The Promises we Keep
by Ryu Niiyama
Summary: When blood is stronger than all else, Alexandra Danvers, Kinkiller is deemed unworthy of Kara Zor-El Danvers' radiant light. Yet is the darkness of her banishment more than the Last Daughter of Krypton can bear?
1. Chapter 1

The Promises we Keep

By Ryu Niiyama

Paring: Kara Zor-El/ Alexandra Danvers

First off…this is KALEX, I know the fanbase is split about that so I've warned you upfront. Secondly, this is not happy KALEX (mostly) and is actually inspired by the old Lois and Clark series.

* * *

Alex always kept her word.

When Kara had demanded that she vanish, that it be as if she never existed, it took two weeks, but Alex kept her word. Her apartment was barren, her phone disconnected, even her online presence had been scrubbed. It was as if Alexandra Elizabeth Danvers had never existed. Aside from a few childhood friends that vaguely remembered her, and the physical records Eliza Danvers kept, it would be next to impossible to find Alexandra Danvers, anywhere.

Just as Kara Zor-El Danvers had decreed, so had it become.

Yet she wasn't gone…just further away. Kara knew this because she could hear Alex's heartbeat. A simple trajectory calculation had placed her in Washington DC and it would explain the sudden spike in efficiency by the DEO in that area. Project Cadmus had been cleared out and the government's treatment of aliens had become much more humane. So much so that many that had landed in other countries began to immigrate to the United States in droves. After all Fort Roz'z wasn't the only way an alien could be trapped on Earth.

Kara could hear an atom divide, and Alexandra Danvers' heartbeat had been a touch stone for the entirety of her life on Earth. More than Kal, more than the Doctors Danvers, it had always been Alex whom had been her lifeline, her defender, her sky beacon. So even when she became a kinkiller, Kara couldn't stop hearing her heartbeat, couldn't stop taking comfort in that steady, strong thump. At first it seemed fitting, for Kara who had lost everything, she would still have this and Alex who had taken away the last true tie of family would have nothing.

 _Nothing_ was exactly what Alexandra Danvers had. She had been a well-liked but extremely distant high ranking member of the DEO, and her job meant that she couldn't develop friendships or relationships easily…or at all really. Lucy Lane had been the closest to becoming a friend, but her turning on Alex and Hank had destroyed whatever had been budding between them. Lucy had confided to her once drunkenly that she'd believed Alex, but she was so desperate to prove herself to her father that she didn't listen to her gut. She mourned the loss of friendship to this day.

Winn and the others were her friends so aside from a brief lull they continued on as before Alex had become a part of their lives. Alex had no roots, using the DEO to follow Kara even though at first Kara had believed it was the other way around. Whatever excuse Alex gave to Eliza for her departure had driven a further wedge between them, pushing Eliza closer to Kara…which in hindsight two years later, Kara and Eliza both realized that had been her aim all along. Jon'n had not taken sides, although she could see his pain clearly. Of the two of them, Alex was the one he felt the closest to, though he loved Kara greatly, Jon'n Jon'zz had taken completely into his heart the daughter of the man that saved his life. Sometimes it looked as if he would say something…but then the moment would pass and Hank Henshaw would do what needed to be done.

At first it had been enough. She had punished the kinkiller and she would protect her city alone. Kara mourned the loss of her Aunt and then Non escalated his attack with Myriad. Kara still shivered as she remembered Non ordering her coworkers to their deaths. If she hadn't used her legs to catch poor Wendy, she would have been responsible for her death rather than two cracked ribs. Non had given her a taste of the unforgiving, relentlessness of war. Where civilians were the weapons of choice in the modern world and where Kara truly learned what it meant to be alone.

At first she'd wanted to forget that her Aunt was the General and that Myriad was her spear, not Non's, but as she watched the chaos unfold around her she could do nothing but weep for the fragile humans that suffered merely because Krypton had superior technology. When she flew Fort Roz'z into space she realized that she would never get to say goodbye to Alex, and that the punishment that she'd meted out had been for herself instead. Had her own mother felt that way when she led the investigation to capture her twin?

Jon'n still wouldn't tell her to this day how she'd survived and been returned to Earth. Death in service was an honorable way for a Kryptonian to die and Kara had been more than willing to seek her family in Rao's light. No longer would she be the source of pain for so many…even, even Alex would be able to rebuild.

Yet that was not to be her fate. She'd been saved, but none would tell her how and she clung to that heartbeat that echoed in everything that she did. More than once she considered going to that heartbeat's source and begging for forgiveness…but a small part of her could not forgive and she knew that Alexandra Danvers would be easy to hear but impossible to find. So she remained within her Protectorate and for a time it was enough.

Until that heart beat spiked with such fear that it had nearly knocked Kara from the sky during patrol. She'd reacted on instinct and was hovering over Texas when she reminded herself that Alex would take care of herself. The heart beat calmed, and perhaps if Kara had been with her more, she would have noticed the thread undercurrent of fear. Alex wasn't calm, she was making her peace. Yet Kara Zor-El didn't realize that until she'd gotten near the desert that housed the DEO base that Lucy now commanded. That cherished heartbeat spiked once more and then… nothing.

Kara had fallen to the ground instantly, convinced that she'd gone deaf, that she'd lost control over her powers. The DEO staff found Supergirl in a massive impact crater, covering her ears and vomiting until she passed out.

When she awoke in a hospital room that had been outfitted with sun lamps (Alex's last project before she left actually) it was to the tearful gaze of a sullen and somber Martian Manhunter.

Field OP.

Rampaging alien.

Collapsed building.

Evacuating her team.

Broken and pinned leg.

Explosion.

The body…Alex couldn't be recovered.

I'm, so sorry.

Kara couldn't comprehend the words the Martian was telling her, she couldn't understand what he meant. Desperate, she reached out her powers until she could hear every voice on the planet, even the worms burrowing in the soil were made known to her, yet within the cacophony there was only silence.

Kara surged from the bed, knocking even the Martian to the ground, punching into the sky without a care for those nearby. Fortunately Jon'n had expected this reaction and had ordered the area and surrounding floors to be cleared. She flew faster than she ever had before, she could hear her cousin take flight but he was too slow to catch her, she flew to where she'd often triangulated the heartbeat to be. Surprised, blank, solemn faces met her in a sea of the unfamiliar until she locked onto familiar chestnut colored eyes.

"Where is she Vasquez?! Tell me!"

Confused soldiers that didn't have the camaraderie forged from working with Supergirl daily raised useless weapons, but Commander Vasquez ordered them down. She turned and entered the base, and Supergirl followed, her senses reaching out like grasping hands for any trace of that cherished heartbeat.

She was led to the Director's office, which had a living suite smaller than most dorm rooms and Vasquez opened a small locker and pulled out a metal box the size of a shoe-box and handed it to Supergirl. With that the agent stepped outside and stood vigil at the door. With trembling hands Kara Zor-El Danvers opened the box and as she viewed its contents she realized it was all that Alex had in the world. Pictures of her childhood home, of her parents, of Alex and Kara as children, a picture of Supergirl, a picture of Kara taken about a month before everything stopped making sense…and a newspaper clipping from when Kara had carried that 747 to save Alex's life. This was all she had…the office was practically barren save any research notes and Kara closed the box and sunk to the floor. It didn't seem fair. Kara had lost her world and gained a new one…while Alex…Alex had watched her world die in small pieces, becoming an alien on the planet of her own birth.

Kara placed the box reverently onto the floor and she pressed her hands into her eyes. Her senses still searching for what could not be found, but she could hear the whispers.

"…Director Danvers... knew Supergirl?..."

"…Why didn't she save her then?..."

"…Why would Commander Vasquez let her in?..."

"…Is she the reason the Director came here?..."

"…The Director was always so …hollow, what did Supergirl _do_ to her?..."

"…She shouldn't be here…the Director gave her life for us…Supergirl shouldn't be here…"

"…She should have saved Director Danvers…isn't that what heroes do?..."

Heat lanced, powerful and filled with rage and grief, blocked only by Kryptonian flesh even as tears boiled as they dripped down her face. The Light of her Life was gone. Was this price worth avenging her Aunt? Her Aunt who had raised arms against her people, her family and now Earth? Was this worth wandering in darkness for the rest of her life?

Commander Susan Vasquez didn't move as she heard the low moan ascend into a scream of unbearable loss. She didn't know why Alex had been assigned to Washington, but she requested a matching transfer immediately. The reinstated Director Henshaw had granted it because he needed someone to look after Alex and Vasquez willingly agreed. Alex had stopped drinking, but she stopped living as well. Even in the DEO she had always been professional, stern yet still warm. Director Danvers had only been professional and stern, but because she would never ask her team to do something she wouldn't do, because even she couldn't snuff out her light, her soldiers grew fiercely loyal even as they ached at the distance she kept.

Vasquez wanted to be furious at Kara, because she knew that Alex would never leave her baby sister willingly. The sun rose and set within Kara for Alex and even in her exile that seemed to be unchanged. When Director Henshaw had hacked their systems and patched a direct line to the Director she watched Alex's skin pale and then her mouth set into a grim line. Two minutes later the escape pod of Supergirl, which had been transferred to Washington for further study, had shot off into the air. After Supergirl was deemed out of danger, the Director quietly returned as if nothing had happened at all. She never talked about Kara, but she'd adopted a mien about herself as if she was Sisyphus reborn. Her punishment was deserved in her eyes but she would not wail in grief, rather she pushed herself that much harder.

Too much harder.

Alex took the mantra of "first one in and last one out" to heart. Her squads had the lowest injury rate…if you excluded Alex herself. Yet she would pump herself full of some bio concoction to accelerate her healing and then she would be back in the fray with only a little down time. Vasquez tried…desperately to keep her Director from setting herself ablaze but she could do nothing in the face of a will stronger than the Maiden of Might.

The last OP was a disaster all around. It would seem that Director Danvers had made a name for herself within the super villain community. They seemed to consider her a bigger threat than the Krypton cousins. After all a god restrained is still so much less potent than a mortal with no reason to live.

By the time they realized that they were being corralled, that the "rampaging aliens" were a decoy for the camouflaged ones, it had been too late. Still Alexandra Danvers lived up to her namesake, every member of her team got out…but her. She'd been pinned with a mangled leg, the building coming down around her, an alien bio bomb with the destructive force of a nuclear warhead about to go off in the same room as her. Director Danvers had calmly opened a channel and explained the situation, declining any extraction team. Half of the DEO had been ready to disregard the order but they knew that though she had no care for her life, the Director wasn't suicidal, if she said they wouldn't get to her in time…they wouldn't get to her in time.

Vasquez told her that she'd never known a greater friend or Commanding Officer and that it was an honor beyond measure to serve with her. Director Danvers- Alex responded in kind and left one last message for her little sister.

"Tell her, I've kept my promise. Be happy, and may she walk in Rao's Light, always." And then there was nothing…except reports coming over the comm that Supergirl had collapsed. Vasquez had wondered then how two soulmates could hurt each other so much and would the world ever make sense again.

The wailing went on, but Vasquez knew that Supergirl could hold her breath for about 17 minutes to Superman's 22, his being male granting him a large lung capacity. So she closed her ears to it, and waived off any soldier foolish enough to drift down the hall, waiting for silence once again. The only acknowledgement she made was to the update that the Man of Steel had arrived, looking for his cousin.

Supergirl had been…broken, broken in a way that losing her planet or fighting her last familial tie to Krypton couldn't do to her. She was broken in a way that stifling her culture, customs and language for a species that Krypton had long deemed barbaric couldn't do to her. Vasquez had hacked the comms to find out what happened the day the Director took her pod and even as the Sunshine of Steel had been saying her goodbyes she had more cheer than the broken thing that finally lurched from Alex's office.

Vasquez said nothing, she merely handed Supergirl a flash drive with the Director's logs, last transmissions and helmet cam footage on it. Technically what she was doing was illegal, but she was willing to face a court martial if it meant she could honor her friend's last wishes. She followed at a distance and watched in surprise as Supergirl didn't embrace her cousin in grief, rather she decked him hard enough to drop him like a sack of bricks and she took to the sky. The Man of Steel was lucky his body healed so quickly as Vasquez watched the black eye that was beginning to form, recede over the course of a minute. Blushing sheepishly in that cornflower boy charm that made him annoying to trench soldiers, the Last Son of Krypton took to the skies as well.

Kal at least had the sense not to follow her again. She would not be reprimanded by the child that abandoned her, for if Kal had lived up to his blood then none of this…none of this would have happened. Yet Kara Zor-El Danvers knew she could not let her anger fester only with him. She had entered into Alex's life like a maelstrom and she had taken everything the Light of her Life had to give. Including her life itself.

Kara buried the box in tundra of snow and ice before she returned home and donned grieving robes of Krypton. Krypton grieved in the color of red, red of the blood lost, red for the life returned to Rao. She added black where she could to concede to North American Earth culture and she began the hard task of explaining to Dr. Elizabeth Ann Danvers that she had taken another beloved member from her house once again.

With no body to bury, and Alex's enforced recluse lifestyle, the memorial was quick. Madam President had shown along with a few other super heroes, but as she looked into the faces of the crowd, Kara realized that aside from the Martian Manhunter, and Commander Vasquez there was no one here that truly knew Dr. Director Alexandra Danvers. Kara could not let that stand.

After the faceless crowd had drifted away and Eliza was safely home Kara began her work. It had been so long since she'd picked up the pursuits of her youth, when Science and Math were lullabies, when feats of engineering were deemed children's play. With great effort she built a cloaking force field, marrying Kryptonian technology and Earth technology to complete the deed, culling every lesson learned on Krypton and within her pod as she lay in timeless death for decades.

Within in the force field she built a Fortress of Remembrance. She gave her parents and her aunt and uncle and Jeremiah Danvers their due, but primarily the fortress with filled with Alex, Alex, Alex. Ice sculptures chronicled her age from the time Kara had met her until her death. Paintings, many from Kara's studio lined the walls, but the crowning achievement had been a simple one. The day Alex had saved Kara from Vartox…the concern but easy confidence, the strength in one that should have been afraid, the salvation that her very presence represented. This sculpture Kara had made life sized, so that she could touch Alex one last time.

Kara Danvers moved back to Midvale to be with Eliza as tradition dictated. She still protected National city, but her life there ended. Winn and James tried the longest to draw her out but when Kal had come to her again, demanding that she open up to her friends, Kara had beaten him so badly that it took him a week to heal. The others stopped calling after that.

It took three months before Kara could listen to the recording that Vasquez had collected for her…and in three minutes she destroyed her Fortress. It was only when her fists had crashed through that life-sized replica of Alex that she'd returned to her senses, and slowly she rebuilt everything she'd torn asunder.

Supergirl had changed, her uniform was now closer to the Kryptonian Military guild light armor, and while she didn't let her pain and rage enter her actions, she lost the kindness and cheerful disposition she was known for. The public didn't understand and Cat Grant returned to spearhead Cat Co in the hopes that she could draw her protégé out of her shell. She failed just as all the others did. Kara Zor-El Danvers didn't know these people; she only protected the world her heart had called home.

It took time but National City adjusted to the changes their heroine had undergone and they too forgot her pain. For two years it was enough. When flying patrol, Supergirl saw a meteor streak across the sky and curiosity piqued, she flew to its impact creator. When she got there she found a small flight pod of Kryptonian design, and with no care of its contents the Maiden of Might ripped off the flight hatch. She was so shocked she didn't even realize that she'd slipped into Kryptonese.

"By Rao's Light…How can this be?!"

* * *

This takes place post season 1 and I stopped watching the show halfway through season 2 so sadly Jeremiah actually did die when Jo'nn thought he did. The thought of Dean Cain being a bad guy for any reason after being the Superman of my child-hood pains me anyway. The only thing that carried over was Maggie's rejection of Alex and the fact that Alex is a homosexual. Since we don't really know her dating history as far as I'm concerned she has always been closeted and has never dated or touched a male beyond what undercover jobs at the DEO require (plenty of longing glances at a few ladies she'd admired though…). However having a genetically perfect orphan alien that didn't understand human culture living with her, losing her father and her mother's personality changing and her rigorous studies…dating was the last thing on her mind.

A lot of people drag Eliza, and forget the grief that she had to bottle up. She couldn't go self-destruct like Alex did, while she had a kid and a walking (albeit kind and gentle) nuke to raise to adulthood safely. It is hard enough being a single parent…but Eliza got parenting dark souls style. Why _SHE_ isn't the alcoholic is beyond me.

Also most of the character assassination of Krypton and its people won't be present here. They won't be the utopia Superboy dreams them to be, but they won't be the arrogant, blind fools that the series seems to try to portray them as which prompted me to bail on the series…plus Mon-El…why was that a thing? Mon-El Is on Daxam in this story.


	2. Chapter 2

The Promises we Keep-Chapter 2

By: Ryu Niiyama

Pairing: Kara Zor-El/Alex Danvers (KALEX)

Welp an auto update from windows 10 ate my first version of this chapter. So if this is choppy…well that's why. Quick note, Kara is named after the Ancient Kryptonian goddess of beauty (so she is essentially named Venus.) So if Kara references someone else as her Kara that is what that alludes to. I tend to lean on the sunworship (although I love that Krypton is practical about their religion, as they are a species that values reason and science above all) aspect of krypton's culture with terms of endearment.

…I have also read too many fics that have Jon'n as an oreo stress eater…so yeah that's canon to me now.

* * *

Kara Zor-El Danvers feels far too deeply.

The Last Daughter of Krypton still relived the soul scouring horror of seeing the death of her planet first hand. She remembered the need to see the end of her species, of her planet; such overwhelming need driving her to pause the auto pilot and turn her craft around after she'd reached a sufficiently safe distance away. There was no sound in space, but she could feel a crack, a fissure that took her young soul and splintered it into a million pieces. She just barely activated her ship's thrusters to keep the shockwave from ripping her apart; instead she was thrown into a living death, the Phantom Zone and held there for nearly two and a half decades.

She was certain her father would have called it foolishness, but as she looked into hesitant hazel eyes as she held onto the too large and clammy hand of her baby cousin, she would have to call it fate. Kal's abandonment tore what was left of her heart in twain; he was a man on earth but in too many ways a child in Krypton's standard. Kal was born shamefully and he didn't know the call of Purpose. He didn't know what it was to have one's meaning written into their very DNA, and Kara Zor-El, learned the desolation that the lack of Purpose could bring.

Yet the purpose to rule, to be guided by science and Rao's light slowly changed into something else. A glowering but still pretty face, annoyed by the inconvenience Kara represented and yet moved by compassion to aid her still. In a hesitant and odd yet endearing accent when speaking the language of Rao, Kara found the unity of a new House. Through Alexandra Danvers she found her place and name as a Danvers herself. In a mind bright as Sol and only fettered by the barbaric learnings of Earth, she found the truth of a bright star made dim in the otherworldly light of Krypton, and yet still so luminous that Kara could not look away.

In a steady heartbeat she found the peace that the loss of all that she knew had been denied to her and a bond and wholeness that was greater than her small super-powered frame. She had been the daughter of Justice and Science but in the beauty of a compassionate heart and the visage of a true _Kara_ that made even her unstoppable heart skip a beat. In this warm light, she learned of the freedom that the world put to canvas could bring. In the early dedication to training, scholastics and athletics, Kara was reminded of the joy of purity, focus in its most true and sublime form. In bloodied fists that would not abide a god that could not defend herself to be abused and tortured, she remembered the bright song of justice, so clear and sweet.

In a broken heart, left bereft by grief of her own cause and yet with anger held tightly at bay she, who existed in a world too fragile and too loud... she learned the righteousness of restraint. In warm eyes that never failed to believe in her, she learned of the compelling fire of hope. In a mind of mischief and curiosity, in hands set to create implements of war in order to protect, she remembered the joy of industriousness. In a life turned from its true path to one of her defender and savior, she learned the meaning and sacrifice of altruism.

When she learned the identity of her Aunt's killer, she believed that she had been blinded, so desperate for belonging that she elevated these barbaric children to a higher worth than they deserved. Her heart grew hardened to the virtues that shined brighter than Sol and Rao together. And thus she turned away, not realizing she would only find darkness instead of the bright hearthfire of love and adoration. She had broken bonds forged by Rao to venerate blood that had betrayed, and her punishment lay in the loss of a warm velvet voice, of arms that despite their lack of comparative strength were her haven and in loss of a heartbeat that guided her in the dark.

Yet light flickered and struggled but it remained steady, cast in a green tint that should have struck fear into her heart, yet it beckoned her like a siren's song. She had nearly taken that light into her arms but mindful of copper tang of blood and fear that she'd lost the gentleness to soothe rather than hurt, led her to re-seal the hatch and lift the craft onto her back. She took to the air with as much insistent gentleness as her frazzled mind would allow.

Hank had been confused, but he trusted the last daughter of his heart and the DEO was prepared when Supergirl touched down with her precious cargo. The Kyrptonian refugee staggered backwards as medics and security personal swarmed, her power had only been required to rip the welded hatch from the craft once more. She barely felt the Martian strength laced grip that clasped her shoulder and somehow kept her from sinking to her knees in shock. Hank's quiet tones infused her with strength renewed and she followed him to perform the worst task of all…they would wait.

Her hands shook like a leaf but she took comfort in a weak but steady heartbeat, a balm on her maimed soul after two achingly long years of silence. Knowing her ravenous metabolism, Director Henshaw brought a plate piled to the brim with high caloric food but she ate it without tasting a bite. Her focus lay elsewhere, though she kept her ears deaf of all save that heartbeat, afraid of what she would hear. Hank was called away and she let herself remember the past, for once not tainted with her anger or grief.

She remembered food fights and tv marathons, debates of science and philosophy and life. She remembered rage, impotent but smoldering, angry that she had to walk behind her Light rather than with her. She remembered longing, the fervent hope that she could one day protect that which had always been her Aegis. She remembered the terror of seeing a plane burning and falling, promising certain death to all aboard and the elation of burning muscles as she carried that same plane on her back to safety. She remembered the joy of Purpose found as she became useful, rather than a coddled invalid, for once her heritage a boon rather than a reason to be pitied. She remembered betrayal, but the anger she'd felt then was merely a paper tiger in the face of her current relief. She remembered the desolation of solemn Martian tones speaking of death, unmerciful and cruel. She clenched her fist, and she remembered a warm, guileless smile, rarely indulged but one that felt like rhapsody to receive.

Hank returned, but his face was contrite and hesitant and she was pulled back to a hospital room, too bright and too bereft of hope. She would not allow him to bring her this news a second time. She would turn back time itself if that is what tidings Jon'n meant to give to her. She would not know this desolation ever again...

Never again.

Frowning, Jon'n gave his news; not the desolation she feared but a hint of what was to come should they not act. Emerald plate could not be removed willingly, not without the bearer's permission or demise. Without will, there was nothing that could be done. Distraught, Supergirl turned and followed a heartbeat a touch less steady than before, dread filling her until she thought she'd choke upon it.

She entered a room she remembered exiting in fear and fury two years prior and she knelt in supplication next to a bed occupied by a will mightier than her own. Supergirl allowed herself a few moments to contact Eliza, she could not reveal all that she knew, at least not yet but she did not wish her Earth Mother to worry. She let her mind drift, sleep would not come to her, but meditation would ease her frazzled nerves. She waited until her otherworldly senses alerted her to a change in breathing that denoted a shift from unconsciousness to burgeoning consciousness.

She stood to her feet, nervousness making her movements clumsy and she smiled a crooked smile as eyes the color of emeralds fluttered open in lethargic pain. Warm emerald green became as brittle, murky jade and Supergirl fought down a flinch as the injured warrior moved an imperceptible distance away. A deep hitched breath and a voice, so achingly familiar yet scratchy from disuse filled the tense air.

"My name is Commander Alexandra Elizabeth Danvers of the Green Lantern Corps, born on …"

Supergirl reached out a hesitant hand, but drew back when the prone Lantern repeated her name, rank, corps affiliation and date of birth. She knew this behavior…a prisoner of war…Alex first thought when she saw Kara Danvers was that she was a prisoner of war. Supergirl had no time to react or speak further as medics rushed into the room, likely alerted to all the medical equipment and of the awakening of the patient. Kara Danvers might have been the Maiden of Might, but she was no match for the stern, steely gaze of the CMO and with sullen, floating steps she exited the room.

Hank's warm grip clasped her shoulder, and she allowed him to steer her to his office. The distraught Kryptonian gaped like a fish for a moment before she turned and buried her face on Hank Henshaw's shoulder and she cried until she was too weak to stand. Hank held her, rocking them slowly with a Martian lullaby thrumming in his throat.

Kara wasn't sure when she fell asleep, spent from crying from the dismay and slight fear in Alex's eyes and she feels her guts churn and shudder as her perfect memory conjurers the image. There had been sleepy joy in emerald eyes but as they raked over her form the warm familiarity had given way to wariness and fear. Kara had seen desolation and remorse, but she had never seen regret directed at her from Alex Danvers' warm gaze and the new silent accusation added another scar to an already shredded heart.

Hank Henshaw entered his office and sat down wearily, pointedly ignoring Kara as he pulled out a bag of oreos and as elegantly as one could, stuffed three of the confections into his mouth. Something about the chemicals used in Earth sweets prompted them to be nearly as addictive as nicotine for many of the alien refugees on Earth and Kara Danvers, who kept a freezer just for ice cream, was oddly happy that she wasn't alone. She allowed the Martian to wash down his sugary snack with mango juice, an odd combination that even Kara's stomach couldn't take, before she stepped closer to the Director's desk.

Hank Henshaw looked up, yet it was Jon'n's eyes that bore into her own, full of sorrow and joy simultaneously.

"She…the blood work has come in. We would need more extensive tests to be completely certain, but the preliminary tests show that this is _our_ Alex Danvers." Kara Danvers' heart didn't know if it wanted to drop to her feet in dread or jump from her chest in elation, so it settled somewhere in her throat to do both.

Alex was alive. An empty grave need not be filled. Alex was alive. A smiling visage need not only live on in a facsimile of ice. Alex was alive. She could rebuild what she had broken, for Rao had given her a second chance. Alex was alive.

Now finally, so was Kara Zor-El Danvers.

Kara drifted to the room that housed her Light and she cast assessing eyes onto Earth's lost daughter. The medics had managed to convince Alex to remove her Green Lantern armor, leaving only the pulsing ring and a band of green locked onto her right wrist as proof that she was more than the eye could discern. Her hair had grown long, reminiscent of her youth and college years, although there was a distinguished band of silver that lined her temples.

Had she gained that new coloration in Washington or after? What happened to her exactly?

Her face, tense with pain lay in slumber's repose, that easy, confident beauty on ready display. Supergirl contented herself with a topical observation of a warrior's form honed further still and she wondered what threats forced lithe strength to grow more sturdy. What tasks had Alex been forced to face alone?

Kara whimpered at the thought, hearing her own harsh demand that Alex Danvers become nothing, not even a memory, and she felt guilt squeeze her heart like a vice. Yet guilt was so much more preferable to grief; guilt could be assuaged, but grief only siphoned more of her weary soul. The Maiden of Might was so lost in thought that she nearly missed emerald eyes snapping open and she fidgeted hesitantly, caught between Supergirl's stalwart strength and Kara Danvers' contrite nervousness.

Yet before she could speak, her Light spoke first and lacerated her heart all over again.

"Supergirl. I apologize for the intrusion."

Alex's voice rang with the warm kind tones she remembered. Spoken velvet that caressed one's soul, rather than the tear filled broken glass squeak that had been Alex's voice as she had tried to beg for forgiveness under the weight of Kara's fury. There was a hint of contriteness to her tone, as if she didn't have a right to be here, and Kara wanted rip out her beating heart at the sound. She had displaced Alex, she had made her an alien in her own world, and the Last Daughter of Krypton wanted to cry tears she didn't deserve to shed. Kara could understand the distance if Alex didn't know that her sister stood before her, but surely Hank said something. Was she nothing more than the Maiden of Might to Alex now? Was that her answer? Is that why she spoke with such formality?

The heroine reached out and then aborted her actions, confused as to how to proceed. She wanted to wrap Alex in a hug and never let her go, she wanted to beg for her forgiveness and dedicate her life to earning Alex's love and regard once again. Instead, she contended with emerald eyes cast with impersonal distance.

Alex shifted the movement bringing both of her arms fully into view. Blue eyes widened as they took in the green band more clearly. The band itself was not jewelry, rather it shielded the silverish band that looped around her wrist. It was difficult to discern the details, which Kara assumed was the reason for the protective Lantern projection around it, but her eyes glowed with emotion as she realized that the bracelet was a Kryptonian Bondmate bracelet. The sight hit her like a kryptonite laced boot to the chest and Kara nearly missed the words that Alex spoke next.

"Supergirl, I hate to ask this of you, but I need your help…"

* * *

-Yes, Kara associates Alex with the Kryptonian virtues.


	3. Chapter 3

The Promises We Keep: Chapter 3

By: Ryu Niiyama

* * *

The Brightest aspirations can make the darkest shadows.

Commander Danvers lay resting, her sleep uneasy due to the pain of her wounds. Her vitals were steady but they were not improving. The Lantern refused surgery or treatment despite several internal and eventually life threatening wounds, and Director Henshaw was pushing Washington to reinstate her credentials as a DEO Agent so he could override her wishes as her commanding officer. Supergirl stood silent vigil, mulling over the request for help Alex made and the stilted reasoning for her sudden appearance. A Kryptonian was likely headed to Earth with ill intentions and Alex had wanted any intel that Supergirl or the DEO had regarding unauthorized alien contact recently.

Kara Danvers flinched at the thought.

Information.

A Kryptonian was on the loose with Earth as his target and all Alex wanted was information. Azure eyes glowed crimson briefly as desolation gripped her heart. The emerald gaze, shaded with familiar brilliance had been distant and professional with only a shadow of regret to offer Supergirl. The Maid of Might clenched at fist at the thought. Not once did Alex call her by name during the entirety of their interaction. Such actions upon her awakening, Kara could understand for Alex had no way of knowing she was in a universe that was safe. Yet while there was no disdain or anger in her voice, she spoke to Hank with far more familiarity than she did her own sister. When she reached for him, taking his hands with a tearful, joyful smile it was all Kara could do to keep her face pleasant and her eyes dormant and dry.

The superheroine drove her fist into the heavy bag in front of her, the material more durable than the type used by a professional boxer, but still light enough to safeguard her wrapped hands as she boxed under the crimson glow of red solar emitters. Before departing for Washington, Alex had left designs for her red light emitters; wanting to use technology that didn't expose Supergirl to a radioactive substance, but would allow her to be safely depowered. Another act of love that Kara had foolishly dismissed.

Beneath the crimson glow was the closest to normal Kara Danvers had felt in decades. Kal… Clark had long been a source of confusion and misinformation about Kryptonian physiology on Earth. It had taken years for Alex to modify and revise her parent's highly regarded research and analyze a Kryptonian properly. Due to being the primary assistant to aiding Kara in harnessing her powers as well as being the first to engage in a true information exchange between Earth and Krypton, Alex understood the differences between their two species with the highest authority.

Due to the higher gravity of Krypton, Kryptonians were naturally stronger than humans. Even as a child had Earth possessed a red sun, Kara would have been as strong as a fully grown adult human male at peak efficiency. Her denser molecular structure allowed her to run faster, leap higher and punch harder than a human (and weigh more than her stature implied), albeit nowhere near the levels of strength she possessed under the light of Sol. Kryptonian bodies partially absorbed nutrients in much the same way as a plant would, lessening their dependence on food and making them mostly diurnal although there were those of her kind genetically tailored to be nocturnal.

Sol's light increased the efficiency of the Kryptonian cell structure beyond its already impressive natural means, at the cost of spiking their metabolism. While Kal and Kara's appetites on Earth were legendary, the food they ingested merely accounted for about 35 percent of their nutritional source. Due to the requirements to blend in with Earth society and the shortness of the days in comparison to the solar light that she truly needed, meant that Kara was essentially ravenous most of the time. A fact made worse by her activities as Supergirl as she now regularly tapped her reserves.

Also unlike Kal, who was born through sexual intercourse and gestation, Kryptonians were designed, genetically tailored to suit the roles they would play in society. As a noble and the eldest of the house of El, Kara was designed with the best aspects of many classes of Krypton. Her body was strong and her metabolism efficient, traits of the warrior class, her intellect already pre-dispositioned to be high due to her parent's genetics, was well into the genius level by Krypton's standard. Her endocrine system was designed to regulate her emotional spectrum to have her lean towards analytical, calm precision, although she possessed a great deal of the Ze passion that had made her mother such a convincing Judicator and her Aunt a fearsome warrior. The horror of her loss, the burden of Sol, the abandonment of her kin, and the comparable primitiveness of Earth left a perfect noble adrift with emotions that had to be tempered at all times.

Krypton also had a higher nitrogen count and a lower oxygen count to its atmosphere than Earth. Earth wasn't entirely toxic to a Kryptonian, but first exposure to Earth's air caused minor damage to the lungs and esophageal lining. Kara had been fortunate that she'd landed during the day, when Kal carelessly ripped off the hatch of her ship, for the sun quickly infused her cells, healing much of the instant damage but not perfectly. Essentially her body adapted, not scaring, but slightly altering the vocal and respiratory system. She had wondered why Kal had sounded so nasal to her ear when she first met him, although to this day the sound of his broken Kryptonese was grating, until she heard the sound of her own voice. The atmospheric adaptation caused a difference in tone and pronunciation, minor if not unnoticeable to one that didn't know better, but a source of horror to the newly landed Kryptonian. Other biological aspects of her species had been hidden and shunned until her body was barely her own anymore.

Supergirl punched and kicked fiercely at the heavy bag to escape the memories, her now skirtless suit allowing for a greater freedom of movement. Even with the distance Alex was placing between them Kara knew she would scour the ends of the Earth for this…Nor-Zar if only to present him to Alex and win her favor once more. She had a second chance and she would not waste it. Alex would see that Kara could do more than cast her aside, she would see that Kara could stand beside her greatest hero and walk hand in hand with her. Then the darkness she'd wandered in for so long would finally dissipate and they would be together, El Mayarah until Alex drew her last breath and Kara ended hers to follow.

For a moment, her mind flickered to the bracelet that she saw upon Alex's wrist and shielded with Lantern Light. Surely she'd been mistaken, there was no way for her to receive a bond bracelet. Most of the Kryptoinan species was dead either at her own hand as Fort Roz'z drifted through the cosmos with no power or Rao's destruction. Her mind, delirious with the thought of Alex's miraculous return had conjured a greater significance to the bracelet than it deserved…and yet her heart was not at ease. What if Alex had found a bondmate bracelet somehow…she was a member of the Corps…perhaps there were living Kryptonians serving there. Had she taken… a mate?

Kara shook her head at the horror of _that_ thought. No, such a thing was impossible. Alex who never dated, Alex who was so wondrous that none were worthy of her, Alex who loved her family and her work would not have time, nor the inclination for such a thing. Besides, marriage bonds were made to negotiate the standing of one's House. The Matricomp in its perfect algorithms, could determine compatibility to ensure that love would one day bear fruit between betrothed pairs, but without a House or a matron to negotiate on her behalf…no, it was impossible. However the thought of Alex, standing upon the Jewel of Truth, clad in the dark green robes of Unity brought warmth to Kara Danvers' once cold six chambered heart. Rao had returned Alex to her…perhaps, she could earn more than just the trust and love of her sister in spirit…

Krypton held love to a different understanding than humanity did. They didn't disdain or eschew sexual and romantic love, but didn't see it as a basis or even a required component for true bonding. After all they were no longer subjugated by a mating drive in order to procreate, so for them love had to be strong enough to endure the journey through life and not just through sexual maturity, and it manifested in various types of relationships.

Unbreakable. Te:zehdh. A bond that transcended all else. A person's true Home.

Yet Kara knew that such a bond didn't preclude hurt or even betrayal for she watched her Mother betray Te:zehdh, Astra In-Ze who had been formed to Alura In-Ze in a rare genetic mishap, a spontaneous dividing that split one zygote into a two…Identical twins. Born from the same birthing matrix, raised together, the twin daughters of the House of Ze rose together…and fell together though they didn't know it. Alura who had been Astra's shield, had been forced to betray her beloved sister for the sake of Krypton and Justice. Astra, who had only wanted a world where her sister and her niece, the daughter of her soul would be safe, had taken her blade that had been wielded for Alura's protection and betrayed all that she held dear.

Kara Danvers remembered how being forced to sentence her sister to eternal oblivion had hollowed her mother out, how it had seemed that she had sent her own soul to the Phantom Zone with her. Neither her father's loving arms, or his kind smile could ease Alura's anguish. Zor-El, who loved his brother but competed with him and resented the place granted to Jor by order of birth, didn't truly understand what it was to cut out one's own soul for the sake of others. Kara herself had been too heartbroken to offer her mother comfort as well. Perhaps that was why she chose rather than to go with her family whole and in Rao's light, she'd sent Kara away to aid a child ungrateful and uncaring of his culture and the sacrifice his and her parents made.

Kara Danvers remembered the creature of rage and despair that her Aunt had become. As the head of House Ze, General Astra In-Ze was a warrior without compare, yet her sister and her niece only knew of her gentleness and kindness. With Te:zehdh alive in her heart there was no enemy that could defeat her, and yet no act she would not commit in Alura and Kara's name if it meant their safety and well-being. Without it, her Aunt could strike the niece she loved as her own; she could spit and snarl out the name of Judicator Alura In-Ze of the House of El as if it were a foul oath. She could threaten to destroy the home that had taken Kara in…and she would have slain Alex, a meaningless enemy soldier without a single thought.

Supergirl paused in her punching at the thought. In the overwhelming grief of losing Alex she had forgiven all between them…but she had done so blindly, desperate in her longing for her Light. She hadn't thought of what it truly meant for Alex, who lived and breathed for Kara's protection to end the life of her Aunt, a woman whose visage matched her mother's and whom she had adored. In naming Alex kinkiller, she had ignored that Aunt Astra, with the might of Sol in her veins would have been a kinkiller had Alex not ambushed her. Her grief and loss had painted Astra almost defenseless; an innocent slaughtered by an unforgiving soldier, rather than a near goddess with the ability to tear brave, yet so very fragile Alex into pieces with the same effort it took to rip tissue paper.

Would she have forgiven Astra, for what she did not forgive Alex? Or would she have sent Astra away to atone and die with only a heartbeat and her self-righteous anger for comfort? Her mother had always cautioned that Justice held no mercy for love. Justice had to see with a clear mind when love acted with reckless passion. After all, the brightest aspirations can make the darkest shadows; Alura In-Ze held the ancient proverb to her heart like a dagger…and in sentencing her twin to the depths of oblivion Kara finally understood why.

"Oh, Alex…"

The Last Daughter of Krypton sunk to her knees, believing that her heart could break no more and finding that there was room for one more crack, one more scar. She wanted to weep but was not certain if she had the right to. Had she not been doused in red light, she would have heard footsteps, moving towards her with frantic urgency. She looked up when the Agent (Ogawa, she remembered offhandedly) burst into the training room, panting heavily and face scrunched with worry.

"Supergirl, ma'am! Come quick, Agent Danvers…she…she's in a coma!"

* * *

Still thought it was short sighted of the show that Supergirl had to kill the last remnants of her race (they were eco terrorists/defected soldiers not serial killers and rapists) to save humanity. But we were supposed to ignore that because she was gonna die in space…

Also please note the bond between Alura and Astra is not romantic nor is it implied to be.

I find it ironic that green was the color of the core Girod (kryptonian virtues) given the color of kryptonite.

I'm taking great liberties with the Kyptonian language and my usage of zehdh, the first aspect of the Girod and applied the possessive modifier Te to roughly translate to [my]House/unity/belonging to imply the inherent strength of an unbreakable bond. (even when it hurts you…)

Thanks for reading,

R. Niiyama


	4. Chapter 4

The Promises We Keep: Chapter 4

By: Ryu Niiyama

Paring: Alex Danvers/Kara Zor-El

Please note this isn't happy KALEX...mostly.

* * *

The General found humans to be inefficient at best and arrogantly dangerous at worst…save one…perhaps.

Supergirl rushed towards Alex's hospital room, just slightly moving beyond a velocity that would be safe for a human if she collided with them. All that mattered was Alex; all she needed was that heartbeat now too thready and too erratic for her comfort. Yet the Maid of Might demanded that noble heart beat steady and proud and she would burn the world to ensure that such a demand was met.

She paused in the hallway near the open door, hearing the clear, commanding tones of CMO Frasier as she worked tirelessly to help Kara's Light. For a brief moment she wondered where Hank was, but then her mind snapped to a shrill, unending beep and utter silence within her soul.

No…

Not again…

She can't lose her Light again!

Before the Last Daughter of Krypton could move closer, Hank Henshaw appeared, his face grim as he struggled to hold back Kryptonian strength and still attempt to appear human as he did so. It was only years of conditioning in touching the woman who was _dying_ mere steps away from her that kept the Martian's arms from being ripped off and an enraged Kryptonian from going _through_ him.

"Supergirl, let them work…we have other concerns."

The look that the Kryptonian shot him was filled with such venom that for a moment the Martian was certain that she'd killed him and he hadn't realized it yet. He blanched as he saw Supergirl's irises flash to white and he steeled his mind to face an honorable death for the daughter of his heart. Yet the abrupt sound of a beep in the steady cadence of a heartbeat stifled any violence and rage on Supergirl's part as she nearly slumped into his restraining hold.

"Come with me."

It took a hint of his strength and his most stern glare, but the Martian Manhunter pulled Kara Zor-El Danvers with him as he walked to the command center of the base. He paused, waving down soldiers that had spread out to flank their guest, commanding them with a word to lower weapons that likely would prove useless. Their guest looked more annoyed than intimidated, although he wasn't certain of that given her full body armor pulsing with a red glow, but she didn't move from her parade rest stance as her eyes quickly assessed the DEO agents around her.

It was only the sight of Supergirl that caused the newcomer's expression to flicker, as an eyebrow shot up and sharp eyes ghosted over the House of El crest upon her chest. For once Jon'n lamented never having learned Kryptonese, he'd met Kryptonians in his travels but the Rao star system was too far away from Sol's star system to warrant the study. He couldn't read the crest upon the newcomer's armor but he frowned in confusion as the warrior turned her right closed fist palm facing upwards and placed her open palm left hand over it and bowing slightly.

Hank allowed Kara to move away from him, keeping a wary distance from the newcomer but close enough to nod in acknowledgement of the gesture of respect and greeting. The warrior lifted her head and through her transparent face helm and rebreather her eyes, the color of emeralds, met the azure pools of Kara Danvers. Recognition danced along Supergirl's synapses, distorted by time and maturity. Yet before she could pose a question, the warrior spoke in English accented with the undamaged lyrical tones of a Rao born Kryptonian.

"Pardon my intrusion, I am General Thara Ak-Var of .Jor:Krypton. I am here to retrieve Commander Alexandra Danvers."

Hank stepped forward at that, his posture aggressive, a veritable Martian father wolf, determined to protect his wounded and vulnerable pup. General Var's expression didn't waver as her eyes remained focused upon Supergirl's. Kara Danvers gasped softly as her mind supplied the image of a young girl, with ash blonde hair and glittering green eyes. Thara Ak-Var had been her best friend as a child, despite their roles as Lady and retainer. Acolyte Var had been a dutiful, serious child, but even she could be talked into adventure on occasion and for a moment Kara Danvers remembered happier times spent by Thara's side. She felt the burn of pride and sorrow at seeing a Thara Ak-Var fully ascended while the girl she grew up with had likely perished in the destruction of the homeworld.

Frowning, Kara Danvers realized that General Var was looking to her as the commander of the DEO, her instinctual loyalty and deferment to the House of El giving no other reality credence. Blushing, Supergirl quickly explained her role as a liaison to the DEO and that Director Henshaw was the commanding officer. General Var looked vaguely confused for a moment before her face grew stern and intent once more. With his authority re-established, Director Henshaw led the two Kyptonians to a side office and began to address the General, his tone stern, but the Last Daughter of Krypton could hear the racing heartbeat that denoted his agitation. Hank sat down behind the desk, not offering General Var a seat and Kara wanted to smirk at the psychological byplay. Not wanting undermine Hank, Supergirl stood near the door her hearing locked as always upon Alex's heartbeat, although she allowed it to spread enough to overhear the gossiping soldiers in the command center.

The Last Daughter of Krypton didn't smirk at the humans' confusion she could hear upon viewing Thara Ak-Var but she wanted to. Most humans held Kal and the few members of the House of El to be the standard for Kyptonian appearance, not understanding the vast differences in genetics and culture between the two species. For one the colors that were deemed recessive and rare or common and striking, such as Kara's dirty blonde hair, or Kal's cornflower blue eyes, were actually common and dominant.

No one would consider Kal to be aesthetically lacking as a male specimen, but he would be considered rather average and dull on Krypton. For a human, Thara Ak-Var with her ash blonde hair and her pine green eyes, on features that were beautiful, although stern due to her personality, yet analogous to a human woman of Japanese lineage was the epitome of "alien" in a way that even a green skin, red eyed seven foot Martian was not. Had she not been desperately tuned into Alex's heartbeat, nor had much of her good humor eroded by pain, Supergirl would have found the human reactions hilarious.

Blonde hair held the same dominance on the Kryptonaian triple stranded DNA sequence as black hair did. In fact, the color of rarity and attraction had actually been the thick chestnut color hair of her mother and aunt, and to a less glorious extent her father had possessed. Kara had actually been devastated that the exposure of the yellow sun had overstimulated her cells and genome to the point that her hair had lightened. It took months for Alex to convince her that she was attractive on Earth even though the bio-engineer had a theory that enough cell saturation of the light of Sol would eventually turn a Kryptonian golden of hair, eyes and skin. Humanity was far more diverse than the Kyrptonian populace had been. They possessed different racial groupings much as Earth did, but due to the political and cultural view that held Krypton as one people, with no nations and instead city states, ethnic groupings were nearly evenly dispersed. It was merely the arrival of Kal and his cousin and their immediate family that presented the image of a Caucasian dominant culture and species.

The warm chestnut silk, laced with auburn fire of Alex's hair had been…and still was, bewitching and alluring to the displaced Kryptonian and no one mourned more than she when Alex cut off her beautiful hair. She was secretly grateful that it had been returned to its previous glory, with only delicate silver to accentuate the luxurious strands.

Thoughts and worries for Alex distracted Supergirl from the verbal jousting of Director Henshaw and General Var, yet she kept her ears half focused on the agitated military leaders just in case she was needed. The Last Daughter of the house of El was jolted back to the present conversation as she watched the Kryptonian stalk towards the seated Hank Henshaw. General Var's pale lime peel green cape flared impressively around her as she slammed her hands against Hank's desk, careless strength easily denting reinforced metal.

"You realize this could be construed as an act of war correct? You are holding a citizen of .Jor:Krypton hostage…"

"Agent Danvers is a citizen of the United States-"

"Commander Danvers is a citizen of .Jor Krypton as well as declared deceased on this planet. Her rights as a member of her House supersede any Earth claims. Commander Danvers is a Green Lantern Corps liaison to the .Jor Kyptonian Military Guild and as Commanding General and second in command of the Guild it is my obligation to protect her rights. More importantly your primitive medical practices cannot care for her."

General Var's tone was clipped and to the point, brooking no room for dissent even from a Martian, several centuries her senior. "Let us be clear, Director. She will _die_ without medical care that my people, _her_ people can provide. Are you so determined to possess a corpse to bury on your American soil?"

Hank frowned knowing that the General had a point, the disguised Martian nodded to allow the General to continue speaking. General Var's face softened, her green eyes glittering in a manner that reminded Kara Danvers of the stern yet easily excitable playmate of her youth.

"I am not without sympathy. So I propose this. I will speak with my superiors to see if Healers can be brought here to aid the Commander. If not however, your team must allow her to be returned to .Jor Krypton for treatment. Are we in agreement?"

Supergirl wanted to refuse in place of Hank, she wanted to demand that Thara Ak-Var bring the healers here, heal Alex and then get the hell out of their lives…but she no longer had that right. So long as Alexandra Elizabeth Danvers was deemed a dead woman, Supergirl could not speak for her. Kara Danvers could not legally know of the DEO so Alex's sister could not come forth on behalf of her sister without endangering everyone, including Jon'n who knew the truth but kept it a secret.

Hank was unwilling to risk the life of his prodigal daughter however, and the disguised Martian nodded his head grudgingly in consent. General Var returned his nod with one of her own and swept out of the room with fluidic grace, switching to Kryptonese and speaking into her communicator. Director Henshaw and Supergirl moved to follow casting concerned eyes to one another before moving from the small room.

General Var turned to Director Henshaw and Supergirl, informing them that High Chancellor El as well as the best members of the Healer faction from the Thought Guild would be coming to Commander Danvers' aid. Supergirl's eyes widened accepting that she was not dealing with an possible survivor of her homeworld, rather an alternate counterpart to the Thara Ak-Var of her world. Yet Krypton must have still exploded as General Var referred to .Jor:Krypton, New Krypton, rather than Krypton itself.

How many of Rao's children survived? Was that how Alex survived? How did she end up in an alternate universe? Kara paled at the thought of Alex having to navigate the familiar to her, but utterly alien and formal to Alex, culture of Krypton alone. Yet this General Var was similar enough to Acolyte Var of her youth for her to hear the honest concern in her voice. If nothing else, Thara Ak-Var respected Alex and didn't wish harm upon her. The thought calmed Kara Danvers' nerves even as she still remained wary and on high alert.

Would General Var expect Alex to return to New Krypton with her? What of the High Chancellor El? Kara inwardly blanched at the thought that Alex had become a person of interest enough that her Uncle Jor-El would personally oversee her care. Yet the thought still warmed her soul, knowing that in some way, the House of El still safeguarded Alex when she could not.

El Mayarah indeed.

She hoped that Kal-El was more honorable in this unknown world, praying to Rao that he would have aided Alex as she lived lost among a world of strangers. Yet she could think no further than this…to wonder more about the colony and its inhabitants tore open a wound that never healed. She was grateful, in a measure beyond counting for the survival of her species…somewhere, yet the thought only made her loss that more poignant. She could only hope that once Alex was restored they could rebuild their family, together, for nothing was more important than family.

That was a tenet that Kara Danvers swore she would never forget again.

Alarms blared suddenly and the facility went on high alert. General Var looked bemused at the reactions even as Director Henshaw demanded information. Every human and Earth refugee gasped as the sight of a massive ship decloaking, sleek and silver and majestically hovering above the facility. Kara Danvers had a feeling that Director Henshaw would end up demolishing his three remaining bags of oreos today. Madam President was going to bury them under the desert once the news outlets got a hold of this, and this is with Alex's quarry still on the loose.

The soldiers fanned out, preparing to receive more guests and Hank led his team outside to meet the Kryptonian delegation. Small transport vehicles swarmed from the ship led in formation by a war mount. Supergirl gasped at the sight, not having seen the fauna of her homeworld since she lost everything she knew and loved. The gold and white war mount landed and Kara realized that this wasn't her Uncle's favored mount H'Rakka. Although she could see the wing membrane patterns that suggested that this mount was related to H'Rakka, part of her clutch perhaps.

Such musings were dismissed as the High Chancellor dismounted and after gently petting the mount, strode confidently towards the assembled DEO agents and nonhumans. Chancellor El's helmet was opaque and due to the resonance frequency used to make the face shielding as well as the red glow that shined brightly along the seams of the full body armor, Supergirl could not use her powers to see her Uncle's face. Yet as she looked over a body a little shorter an stature than her Uncle's and a stride that didn't seem to be in line with a male, a very uncomfortable thought stole over Kara Danvers' mind.

This wasn't a counterpart to her Uncle Jor… or her father Zor.

Alarm ran up her spine as she wondered at the identity of the High Chancellor; surely her Uncle Jor's counterpart had survived to live within and rule New Krypton. Had he met his end in another fashion? Did his wife Lara Lor-Van of the House of El rule in his stead? After all, while the House of Van had not been nearly as revered as the House of El, they were a wise house with good standing in the Guild of Thought. The Aunt Lara of her reality had been a prominent scientist, one of many advocating a return to the space-faring ways of their ancestors, and an artist of great renown putting mathematical theorems to canvas with ease and flair. It was Aunt Lara who taught Kara to paint and the joyful thought of seeing her again...even at the loss of her Uncle Jor was great.

The crimson cape of the House of El flared majestically behind the High Chancellor, her steps measured and fluidic as she came to stop before the assembled team. General Var kneeled until the Chancellor reached out an armored hand to touch her shoulder. Rising, the green eyed General moved to the left of her sovereign, taking her place as her sword.

Realizing that as the only resident Kryptonian refugee she would be expected to take the lead, Supergirl stepped forward and bowed in reverence but shallower than General Var due to her own status. Dragging the dormant manners and education of her youth from the depths of her soul, Kara Zor-El Danvers held out her hands facing palm upwards.

"Sisters and brothers of bonds unbreakable, I greet thee thrice. To you High Chancellor El, may Rao's light shine upon you in wisdom, logic and valor."

High Chancellor El moved her hand to her helmet to key the controls to make the shielding transparent and Supergirl felt rage grip her heart in a fiery grip immolating her spirit as she looked into a very familiar face.

Her own.

* * *

I was thiiiiiiis close to leaving Lady El's face shrouded until the next chapter. But now the name usage I've been following should make a bit more sense. Been a crap weekend…so I type. Thus two updates in one day.

My version of Thara Ak-Var face wise looks like Kou Shibasaki; woman can go from stern to hilarious in 0 to 60. Body wise Tomoko Kanada (the body builder). I've not seen past the first 5 eps of season 2 so the stuff in Season 3 (and 2)…yeah doesn't exist here. Really this diverges once Alex kills Astra so while I may pull elements from season 1…this is an AU.

Really wish MOS had a bestiary as H'Rakka means "war kite" and has to be the name of the creature and not its species. It's not like one would name a horse, "Horse" so…yeah.

Thanks for reading,

R. Niiyama


	5. Chapter 5

The Promises we Keep: Chapter 5

By Ryu Niiyama

* * *

In brightest day…full of fright…look to the stars…for that is your fate.

Jon'n Jon'zz prided himself on his ability to remain calm in nearly all circumstances. He only had to truly look to two times in his life that he failed in that. The loss of his beloved wife and daughters and the loss of a daughter that he had not sired but loved just as dearly.

The Martian lamented the day that Kara Danvers chose grief over love, letting her outrage at the death of her Aunt tear asunder the strongest bond he'd ever seen. It was as if the universe and time itself bent and twisted solely for the sake of bringing Alex Danvers and Kara Danvers together. Yet even such a miracle could not stay condemnation born of loss. He didn't bear Kara any ill will however; he knew what pain would drive a soul to. If his beloved My'ria'h had returned to him on Earth, ready to renew a life with him but at the cost of the subjugation of the humans and non humans that called Earth home, could he allow it? Wouldn't he have to stop her at any cost, no matter the devastation that it would cause him?

Yet now Alexandra lay waiting to die, her continued existence in the hands of Kryptonians that claimed her as their own. He looked to Supergirl, whose face looked absolutely murderous as she glared at the two New Kryptonian officials sitting on the opposite side of his office, although he was fairly certain that she wasn't cognizant of that fact. General Var looked as if she was uncertain if she would have to strike her down or if this was just her standard expression. The last of the Manhunters sighed and opened a bag of double stuff chocolate cream oreos. If he survived being Hank Henshaw another year….he'd be surprised.

Frowning, the disguised Martian moved his laptop out of the viewing angle of his stress relief as he answered CMO Fraiser's update that the Kryptonians had been gone through quarantine and that she could detect no contaminants upon their suits. That was the one thing that struck Jon'n as odd; the entire Kryptonian delegation wore full body suits. Only High Chancellor El and General Var wore battle armor, but not a single member of the New Kryptonian delegation had any type of skin exposure and they were all fitted with rebreathers.

Henshaw had studied Alex's research well, his heart swelling with second hand pride at her brilliance, but he knew despite the discomfort it wouldn't be fatal for a Kryptonian to be exposed to Earth's atmosphere. After all Kal had run around Earth for his entire life and it granted him longevity, power and a hick charm that merely made him insufferable. Even Jon'n ,who thought the atmosphere of Earth tasted like Lysol, never wore any type of breathing apparatus.

He glanced suspiciously at the constant red glow along the seams and crest of the two New Kryptonian citizens. He had a burgeoning suspicion, but he would bid his time before voicing it. After all until Alex was hale and hearty, they were at High Chancellor El and General Var's mercy. Turning back to his laptop, Director Henshaw advised the Doctor and the Healers to proceed. The four of them waited in tense silence for an hour, no one daring to speak. He looked up when Kara…Lady El stood before his desk.

"Director Henshaw. The craft that Commander Danvers arrived in….may I be permitted to see it? Her recovery is dependent upon its contents." Internally, the Martian arched a brow at the formal slant to this version of Kara Zor-El's speech. Yet he knew that Supergirl had been just as formal upon her arrival upon Earth. He supposed then that Alex had not been able to befriend Lady Kara Zor-El and slowly erode her formality with her unique brand of precise, yet refreshingly blunt wit. The thought saddened him, knowing that Alex was merely a member of the Military Guild and the Lanterns, even though the reason she'd taken up the sword at all had been for her Kara's sake.

Nodding, the Director rose and guided the three Kryptonians to the containment hangar. Kara Danvers' ship had been reacquired by Hank's team, and as of now no one had begun to analyze Alex's craft. Eventually someone aside from Dr. Frasier was going to realize the favoritism and protectiveness that Hank Henshaw had for his adopted daughters. Sullenly, the disguised Martian stuffed an Oreo into his mouth and chewed in swift agitation.

They entered the hanger and General Var strode in right behind Henshaw and Supergirl, protective of Lady El. The two Earth refugees stepped back as sharp viridian eyes quickly scanned for danger before she motioned to her sovereign to enter. The General was good at her job, Henshaw noted in assessment, if the New Kryptonians turned out to be hostile, she would have to be the one to take out first. Yet the Martian had to swallow a smile as he heard the gasp the General made as her eyes alighted upon the ship.

"Rao's Light! What could have caused such damage?!" General Var moved towards the ship and it took a moment for Hank and Supergirl to realize that she was referring to the hand indentions and the ripped and re-welded and re-ripped again hatch that the Maid of Might had inflicted upon the small craft. Such damage was tame when dealing with either of the El cousins in general, although they both tried mightily to limit the amount of destruction their indestructible bodies inflicted upon a fragile world. Lady El said nothing, merely deigning to wait until her General had finished her inspection of the ship.

"General, is the piloting chamber still intact?"

"It is, my Lady although there was significant damage."

"Acceptable."

Hank and Supergirl watched as General Var stepped back and Lady El moved forward to key in a command. The ship began to glow as it hummed to life and Supergirl arched an eyebrow as she noticed an inscription stamped onto the hull glow brightly. The ship beeped and whined in annoyance, the AI too damaged to bother with its language interface as the sovereign reached further in, looking for something. A muted hiss tickled Supergirl's hearing as Lady El drew out an object, glowing vibrantly green. Instinctively, the Last Daughter of Krypton recoiled and she could feel the equally green eyes of General Var flitting upon her in confusion.

Lady El drew back and the ship once again went silent as she held Commander Danvers' Green Lantern battery in her hands. Hank nodded, realizing the High Chancellor's thought process; what life Alex had left was likely sustained by her power ring…but that power was fading. She would need both medical attention and the restoration of her power to recover.

As they returned to Hank's office, he received a communication that Alex was out of surgery, but that the Head Physician requested the presence of the High Chancellor. With barely a change in stride Director Henshaw led the Kryptonians to Alex's room. The group paused as the assistant healers exited and after a low bow to their leader headed down the hall.

General Var took up a guard post at the side of the door and Director Henshaw, not willing to be outdone and not entirely trusting their guests flanked the door on the opposite side. Paying neither of them any mind, Lady El swept into the room with Supergirl close behind.

"Healer Retsu Un-Do, how does the Commander fare?"

Healer Do bowed low to her sovereign, although her head tilted briefly in curiosity as she took in Supergirl to Lady El's right. The dark haired woman made no comment beyond that as she turned closed eyes to her Lady and updated her with Alex's progress. Kara Danvers wanted to sigh in relief as the quiet spoken Healer gave Alex a mostly clean bill of health. Injuries that had been certain death were washed away and her beloved sister lay asleep in a healing chamber. Similar to the Kryptonian birthing matrix chambers, the injured party lay in the healing chamber submerged in a high nutrient and medicinal solution, designed to promote rapid healing that didn't require surgery.

Satisfied with the Healer's answer, Lady El dismissed her, promising a commendation for herself and her team. Bowing once more, before favoring Supergirl with a look that was vaguely terrifying even though her expression remained the same, the healer swept out of the room elegantly. Without missing a beat, Lady El moved to the chamber and pressed a button on the housing, causing a small receptacle in the shape of the Lantern Battery to open. Carefully, Lady El placed the Battery within the receptacle, but for a brief moment Supergirl thought that she saw the emerald color of the battery change. If she didn't know any better, she would have sworn that she saw the battery cycle from green to crimson then to violet to azure and then to orange before returning to its iconic emerald once again.

Lady El resealed the Lantern housing, turning with grace and striding towards the door, Supergirl lingered her azure gaze drinking Alex in, her sister's body nude except for a breathing apparatus, although the construction of the chamber protected her modesty. With the majority of her wounds already healed, Alex looked like she was merely sleeping, rather than recovering from life threatening wounds. The Last Daughter of El missed the nights after bingeing a show, cuddled next to her Light, listening to her steady heartbeat and easy breathing.

"Commander Danvers will need her rest, Super…girl…I believe that is title they have given you here correct?"

"Yes, but Alex…"

"-Will need at least a day to heal. There is no need to doubt Healer Do's work. She possesses no equal within the Healer faction."

"I just…she's my sister. She's family, I just want to make sure she is alright."

"Curious. She has never mentioned that she had _zrhythrevium._ Nonetheless, there are more pressing matters to attend to, unless I am mistaken about your role as protector of this world?"

Stating no more, Lady El exited the room imperiously, her parting words tugging at Supergirl's sense of pride and concern for Earth. Yet she was bothered by implication that Alex had disowned her. She supposed that one abandonment deserved another, but she never actually expected it of _Alex_. Shamefully, she had to admit that was part of the reason she cast Alex out rather than killing her. Although for the sake of her sanity, she had to believe she wasn't capable of that, even under Red K. However in her poisoned state she'd been correct in a way that black night. Alex didn't have a life without her, under red K it was a matter of scorn and derision, but she'd always been grateful for the sister that gave so much for her sake. She wondered if she ever truly gave Alex anything back in return before her anger destroyed everything.

Casting one last longing glance at her still unconscious sister, Kara Danvers moved to follow her counterpart to Director Henshaw's office. When she arrived she found Director Lucy Lane arguing with Henshaw. Oddly enough Lady El and Supergirl shared a similar grimace as Lane while louder, reminded them both of Alura In-Ze when she had to give a "Kara, you have disappointed me greatly" lecture that could strip a bulkhead and make one feel a nanometer tall.

"A ship, Henshaw. Do you have any idea the amount of damage control required to fix this? We've had to practically shut down the internet. How long do you think it will take for people to realize that hacker groups aren't that organized?!"

"I get it Lane, we should have transferred operations to your facility, however I had little choice in the matter, Alex Danvers' life was at stake."

Lane smiled a chershire grin as she stared at Henshaw just long enough to make him start drumming his fingers against his desk. Supergirl blanched, the last time she saw that look Superman ended up wearing a pink tutu for a month when on duty. Kara learned very quickly to never make a bet with Lucy Lane after that.

"So, _please_ let me be the one to tell her that you tried to get her reinstated with a demotion…"

"-To _save_ her life, Lane. I'm still ranking officer over you two…"

"Fine, fine…let's see if she agrees with that shall we?"

The Maid of Might suspected that the only reason that Henshaw didn't glower at Lucy was due to his age. However she was fairly certain he wanted to as he conceded her point…grudgingly. Lucy nodded and exited the room with a smirk, while Henshaw snagged another handful of cookies, grumbling under his breath in what Supergirl assumed was Martian. Lady El stepped forward, her tone calm and measured as she apologized for the intrusion and she updated the Director with Commander Danvers' status. Immediately she ordered the vanguard ship to assume a cloaked orbit of Earth and that her personal ship be sent cloaked in its place. General Var looked as if she wished to protest, but with a look from her Sovereign and she subsided immediately.

Despite all of the hassle, Jon'n Jonz'z looked pleased at the news but he quickly shifted the conversation to the reason for Alex's arrival in the first place. Lady El's expression didn't flicker as she explained that Nor-Zar was a member of the Merchant Guild and that he'd used classified technology to come to this universe. They weren't sure why entirely that he'd chosen Earth to flee to, for the council maintained that Earth was a barbaric planet and thus would be ill suited for trade or colonization. Supergirl arched an eyebrow at that, feeling there was something that the Chancellor wasn't being forthcoming about and she found herself becoming more and more wary of her counterpart. She'd seen herself half crazed with rage, dark thoughts swirling and consuming and twisting her personality, so she refused to assume that just because this female shared her face, that they would have the same motivations.

Still, Lady El insisted that Nor-Zar must be apprehended, even more so considering that he brought his House with him. A single Kyrptonian could do untold amounts of damage to Earth, even against kryptonite weaponry , but a House? Unchecked, they could bring Earth to its knees. The Earth refugees were beginning to see why a Lantern would have been interested in apprehending Nor and for that matter why the New Kryptonians had dispatched to Earth so quickly.

Supergirl pulled back once the New Kryptonians and Director Henshaw got into the specifics of strategy. Kara Danvers had a mind for tactics, but not when that included the red tape of dealing with a classified government organization. She took time to focus on Lady El herself. Even now she still reeled with anger at the thought of this interloper, this Kara Zor-El being part of Alex's life. Is that why Alex didn't come back for two years? Had this female replaced her in Alex's life? Yet the way the Chancellor spoke of "Commander Danvers" gave her some hope; Alex was a soldier to her, perhaps a prized one but nothing more to the noble. Alex wasn't family to Lady El. A part of Kara Danvers mourned that idea, wondering if that meant Alex had been alone all this time, suspicious bracelet notwithstanding. She glared at the noblewoman, cataloging the differences she could discern between the two of them.

Without exposure to Earth's sun, Lady El retained the hair and eye coloration of her youth, dark rich umber hair and although she couldn't determine the length due to her armor Supergirl assumed it was as long as her own. Lady El's eyes were a darker royal blue than her own, shading closer to the Kryptonian aesthetic as opposed to her lighter, sharper azure eyes.

Lady El's physique was different than her own as well. Due to her powers on Earth Kara Danvers had not actually had to physically exert herself until she became Supergirl, but due to her body's overactive healing factor she and Clark didn't have the ability to go through the damage and repair process to become physically more robust. She knew that she and her cousin were considered attractive, but in all honestly they were more fit than actually physically strong. Their high metabolisms combined with the fact that the majority of their nourishment came from Sol rather than the food they ingested and burned off rapidly meant that they had a low body fat content. Aside from a standard musculature due to daily activity they were in no better shape than a person that maintained consistent, moderate physical activity.

Lady El however, looked the part of a warrior. She possessed much of the El litheness, but her body was overall more stocky, thick with bands of muscle made apparent by the fit of her armor that made her look more in line with an Olympic level athlete than Supergirl's less robust form. Yet what struck her the most was the bearing of Lady El. This female was Kara Zor-El fully realized. A noblewoman and ruler, yet it was obvious that her rule was just and kind. She wanted to feel something other than her boiling jealousy, but the thought that loyalty to this new Kara Zor-El was the reason Alex didn't return to Earth sooner, and that when she did she was near death carrying out Lady Kara Zor-El's orders infuriated her and struck too close to home.

The two leaders spoke for a time longer, but they reached a bit of an impasse, wanting Commander Danvers' input on the situation. Just as the two were preparing to sojourn their meeting for a time, a chirp sounded on Director Henshaw's communicator and one on Lady El as well. The two locked eyes for a moment, realizing that such a notification could mean only one thing.

Commander Danvers was awake.

The office quickly emptied out, although for a moment it seemed like there would be some jockeying over who would exit first before Hank took point. The sounds of glass shattering and metal twisting pushed the four into a run, and Supergirl had to restrain herself from speeding past all of them. Afraid for Alex's life, Kara Danvers tuned her hearing to expand beyond that of Alex's heartbeat and to spread into the room she occupied. The superheroine nearly faltered at the sounds she heard.

"In brightest day, in blackest night,

No evil or injustice shall escape my sight.

Let the Dawn be shielded from those who bring darkness and blight,

Beware my power—Green Lantern's Light!"

* * *

Continuity housecleaning… J'onn is the commander of the city DEO base, Lane the desert, and Alex formerly of the Washington DC base. They are currently in the city base (hence Lane being pissed about a spaceship showing up in the middle of the city as opposed to the desert).

I'm a big fan of Alex Ross' rendition of the DC universe and for me High Chancellor El body wise would be a younger looking version of Powerwoman from Kingdom Come. That version of Kara takes great pride in her body and physicality and is more in line with a bodybuilder or strongwoman (Ross draws her in the middle really, as she isn't muscular for aesthetics and she has more of the fuller form of a strength athlete). If I had to pick a real person I'd say that physically, High Chancellor El looks like Cory Everson back in her heyday (although she still looks fantastic now).

Since a number of unique GLs have their own version of the oath, Alex has her own personal one…It is shrouded in allegory but it is Kara centric as is fitting to Alex.

While I'm using Powergirl/woman as a template for Lady El, she is not Kara Zor-L from earth 2. I have no desire to deal with her being weak to raw materials…seriously when your weakness is so bad that it gets lampshaded in the comics by your earth 1 counterpart…yeah you suck. I mean you can beat her with a stick…literally.

Yes, I'm misspelling MM name on purpose (it always bugged me how the Martian names were made up…here let's take human names, spell them…uniquely and toss a bunch of apostrophes in there…really?!)

Also Yes Healer Do is Retsu Unohana (House of Do is associated with strength and battle), I just…thought it was fitting for some reason. …Don't ask how J'onn knows what Lysol tastes like…long story.


	6. Chapter 6

The Promises we Keep- Chapter 6

By Ryu Niiyama

* * *

Alexandra Danvers held the heart of a hero.

The four non humans paused at the room that housed Alexandra Danvers, the brilliant emerald glow forcing them to shield their eyes briefly. When the ethereal light dimmed the four took in the sight of the Commander; one face bemused, another annoyed and two gobsmacked with awe.

General Var broke the silence first.

"Rao's Light, Danvers! Couldn't wait until your wounds completely healed?! Did you _have_ to break the healing chamber?!"

Commander Danvers blushed lightly beneath her Lantern mask, bright emerald eyes contrite as her lenses briefly flashed transparent. Smiling a crooked grin, the Lantern alighted upon the linoleum flooring and turned carefully to the mangled healing chamber. Next to Supergirl, Hank Henshaw let out a gasp. When General Danvers had been recovered she had been wearing a medium weight Kryptonian armor set fashioned from Lantern light. Currently, she was attired in what was assumed to be her Lantern uniform. Her eyes and nose were masked with a green neoprene type mask with opaque emerald lenses shielding her eyes from view. Rather than the skin tight flight suit the Corps was known for, Alex Danvers wore a suit that blended elements of her own personality with some very obvious non Earth influences.

The visible part of her suit resembled more of a black leather duster, the top half of it reminding Supergirl strongly of an old, well-loved motorcycle jacket that still hung in a closet in Alex's apartment. The collar bore a snap clasp that was currently open while the lightly padded shoulders bore epaulets with chrome accents. Rather than close at the center, the coat bore two small clasps across laced diagonally below her collarbone on the left hand side and a hidden seam, the asymmetrical design ensuring freedom of movement. A solid band of green across her shoulders and chest formed the shape of a house crest, but bearing the lantern symbol stylized in High Kryptonese script. The band spread to the tops of each bicep ending in the tip of a smaller house crest, the outlines of a blank crest embossed within the design. Underneath the cuffs white armored gloves shrouded her hands, leaving only her Lantern ring visible.

Across her torso and with the appearance that they were underneath her crest, two thick white bands formed a line at the center of the bottom of her crest before looping diagonally down above her hips and reforming a line up her spine before diverging towards her shoulders and appearing to be covered by the solid green band at her shoulders. From the front it was difficult to discern what the pattern meant but looking upon her back, it was easy to see the red "X" of the Martian Manhunter had been reproduced in Lantern Corps White.

At her hips a black compact tactical belt clasped with a chrome version of a blank house crest held the coat together before it flared out in an open, lightly armored duster, leaving her legs free to move. She wore black, light Kryptonian style chain link weave upon her legs that bore a green racing stripe diagonally swiping each quad and knee while her feet were tucked neatly into black boots that were armored and lace-less like motorcycle racing boots but bore the soles of combat boots in green.

Her hair was currently unbound and dry despite her previous submersion in the healing fluid and Supergirl realized that her sister's hair now reached the small of her back, the silken strands lush and vibrant.

A muted emerald glow shined briefly from her hand and the scattered shards and twisted metal and spilled liquid were encased in that light and surged towards the chamber. Within moments the chamber was restored, vibrant green glowing in the fissures of the damaged apparatus, maintaining its restored state.

"There. That will hold it until I can repair it. I do _not_ want to have to explain to Healer Do what happened."

General Var let out a snort of amusement before turning and striding out of the room to wait in the hallway. Commander Danvers turned back around and bowed to Lady El before turning to Hank and grinning broadly. The disguised Martian's eyes were suspiciously moist as he offered a watery grin of his own and before Alex could speak, he abruptly pulled her into an embrace. Lady El moved to stand beside Supergirl as the two officers reconciled, no longer caring about briefings or verifying identities.

"Damnit, Danvers don't you dare scare me like that again."

"Hey Hank, I missed you too…"

When the two broke apart, Commander Danvers' mask was absent and her emerald eyes shimmered with unshed tears. Supergirl fidgeted slightly, watching them with an aching yearning within her breast. She moved to step forward when Lady El's calm tones reminded them of the reason that they were here. Stymied, Supergirl moved back as Hank suggested that they meet at the war table in the command center to discuss next steps

Director Henshaw turned and headed for the command center and Supergirl lingered for a moment hoping to catch Alex's gaze. The Lantern's mask flashed back in place once more and she nodded to Supergirl, her face unreadable to the Kryptonian that once knew her so well. Refusing to let a perceived rejection dampen her relief at seeing Alex whole and in the flesh, she smiled one of her trademark Sunny Danvers smiles before moving to follow Hank. If she had waited a moment more she would have seen the almost startled, disconcerted look that crossed the Commander's face briefly and the raised eyebrow that the High Chancellor offered in response. General Var waited by the door, her face stern and sharp eyes scanning for threats. A few heartbeats later Lady El strode from the room, General Var moving to three steps behind her and flanking her left, while the Green Lantern, her hair now bound and braided, did the same flanking her right.

Supergirl could hear the murmurs of shock and confusion among the soldiers. Alex Danvers had been a legend within the DEO; beautiful, brilliant, charming and competent and the only one capable of putting Henshaw on his ass on occasion during sparing and her transfer and subsequent death had hit many of the agents hard. Many of the agents in the command center had served under Alex, trained with her and fought by her side, most of them oblivious to the reason for the deep connection between her and Supergirl. To see her striding confidently in the garb of a heroine, the skirt of her duster flaring out similar to a cape, set alight a fire of hope that a flying alien couldn't engender. Alex Danvers was proof that humanity could do great things; proof that goodness and honor were worth fighting for. To see their heroine alive and well after all she'd been through sent shockwaves of joy and confidence through the agents that looked upon her.

"I can't believe it! Only Danvers could have come back from the dead a superhero."

"Look at her, damn I thought she was a badass before….!"

"Holy shi- has she been working out…more than her normal?!…That's it Daisy, I'm asking her out."

"Piper, control your thirst for two seconds; for one you have never served with her directly so she likely doesn't know that you are alive. And for two, she just got out of a coma, you wanna let her breathe first?!"

Supergirl shot the two gossiping agents a sharp look and they clambered to attention even as confusion spread across their faces. Satisfied that her sister's virtue was protected, the Last Daughter of Krypton turned back to the New Kryptonians. Commander Danvers took the lead, pulling a small sunstone crystal from her belt and activating the projection interface. Lifelike images of Nor-Zar as well as the device that he stole to make his journey to this universe appeared briefly and she began to explain the situation as she understood it. Alex had been the first to respond to the alarm that Nor-Zar was escaping, and with her smaller but faster ship she tailed him immediately. Yet Nor-Zar's ship created a subspace tunnel as it went to FTL speed and activated the stolen equipment and Alex's ship was caught within the gravity eddy buffeted by shockwaves damaging her ship to near critical condition. It was pure luck and skill that she'd been able to navigate to the landing that she did on Earth, even as she passed out from her wounds afterwards.

Kara Danvers frowned, remembering the bloody and battered form of her sister, joy and terrified horror gripping her heart in equal strength. When Alex foolishly denied treatment for herself, placing her life on the line Kara, had been sick with fear and concern. Why would Lady El send Alex alone after Nor-Zar… how could she play with Alex's life like that? Unaware of the fury brewing within her sister's heart, Alex made a formal request for assistance which Hank agreed to.

Lady El offered her own resources, promising that .Jor:Krypton would prevent Nor from wrecking havoc on Earth. In agreement, Hank suggested that they retire for the evening while the DEO worked recon. The Director quietly admitted to Alex that he maintained her apartment if she wished to return there. General Var stated that she would return to the Vanguard ship to prepare her team. Though she no longer called National City home, Supergirl hoped that she could use this downtime to speak with Alex and begin to make things right between them. The Maid of Might raised a hesitant hand, only to have Lady El speak before she could even form the words she wanted to offer Alex.

"Commander, I would speak with you further about this situation."

"Of course High Chancellor. If you'd follow me. Hank would you mind issuing me a vehicle? I can't exactly walk around National City dressed like this."

With Henshaw's agreement, the two left the command center, leaving a somewhat sullen Supergirl behind. Self-conscious, the Last Daughter of Krypton moved toward the holding hangar, before Henshaw could say anything to her.

In his office, Hank Henshaw blanched hard enough that he almost reverted to his true form at the reports from Ogawa and Fraiser. He was furious at himself for trusting the delegation for even a moment. The Martian stared at the more comprehensive account of Alex's bloodwork as well as the ship registry for Lady El's ship. Suspicion arose at the information in the reports as well as the inconsistencies of the New Krypton delegation's behavior He would have to be careful, if he hoped to get Alex away from them, he would have to tread carefully. For now he would allow them to continue to work with the DEO unimpeded.

Frowning, the Martian Manhunter reached into a locked desk drawer and pulled out a photo. Framed, it was a picture of Alex as she was fully instated into the DEO, not yet the hardened soldier she would become, but no longer the heartbroken young woman spiraling into self-destruction. Hank had clasped her hand in a firm grip in the picture, his face stern but his eyes warm as he looked into her smirking face. Quietly, he renewed his vow to Jeremiah Danvers in his heart and sent prayers to his lost wife and daughters to give him strength. He would not fail Alex again…

Kara stood outside the hangar for a few endless moments, lingering in memories too joyful and too painful to bear as she thought of her sister. She grimaced at the limited contact between them so far. Whenever she tried to bridge the chasm between them, Lady El stood in the way. Nothing the noble did was rude or even obstructing but it galled her to see herself, as merely Alex's sovereign and standing by her side when her sister could not. The noble made Kara Danvers feel uncomfortable in her own skin, and something about her counterpart set her teeth on edge and filled her heart with fury. Sighing softly, Supergirl moved to enter the hangar; as if her heart were tied to a thread she was drawn to Alex's craft.

She remembered the inscription that glowed when Lady El briefly activated the craft. Had it been visible when she saved Alex from certain death? She remembered the emerald glow of Lantern light, and the craft had glowed as she carried it to the DEO, but it had been dormant as the DEO scientists took it away. As she ran her fingers along the hull the inscription glowed to life faintly. Curious, Kara Danvers traced the lettering, reading the inscription out loud in translated English.

"You will travel far my beloved one,

But I shall never leave you even in the face of adversity

The richness of our bond shall always be yours

All that I have, All that I've learned, everything I feel-

All this and more, I offer to you my Light,

You will carry my love inside you all the days of your life

You will make my strength your own

And see my life through your own eyes as your life will be seen through mine

The blade becomes the shield and the shield becomes the blade

-until you return to me again."

This was a lover's prayer for safe journeys, fitting for one's beloved that put her life on the line as Alex likely did so often. Shocked Supergirl, leapt backwards, hovering in midair her eyes staring at the hull, featureless without her touch. Alex was loved…loved by someone enough that her very ship was blessed in hopes of her safe return. The prayer was written in High Kryptonese, meaning that a high ranking noble would have written it. It was impossible to marry into a Great House without a bonding negotiation and betrothal. Anything else would result in a striping of one's house. Non had lost his house when he bonded with Astra against Lord In-Ze's wishes. Yet this inscription proved that Alex's lover would have at the very least maintained her standing.

"How…Alex can't be bonded…it's not legally possible…"

She hadn't even realized that she'd spoken aloud until another voice echoed within the hangar.

"Why not? After all she is sponsored by House Ze."

General Var stood below, looking up at the still floating heroine, having decided to check Commander Danvers' ship logs before departing. She hadn't meant to intrude, but a Kara Zor-El in distress always pulled at her heartstrings. Supergirl wanted to laugh in incredulous hysteria at the notion, her thoughts churning even as she alighted next to the General. House sponsorship was below adoption but above being named a vassal or acolyte. It was used to give houseless citizens such as members of the Labor Guild or the rare alien legal status upon Krypton. It also allowed for the House Matriarch to negotiate bonding contracts their behalf. Which meant…General Astra In-Ze of House Ze had taken Alex in and negotiated her bonding contact. Kara Zor-El Danvers tottered somewhat dazed to the nearest shop stool and sat down gingerly, still mindful enough not to break it.

General Var explained that sponsorship allowed Commander Danvers to take part in the Military Guild, although by law she is a member of the Guild of Thought. Healer Do was not going to let a xeno-biologist and bio-engineer of Alexandra Danvers' level slip through her fingers. Var and Astra herself had to negotiate for months…and it may have involved a fist fight or two to reach a compromise with Healer Do. Var shuddered at the thought, her emerald eyes flickering closed.

"Baring the High Admiral, that woman is the most terrifying opponent I've ever faced."

But of course such actions were not taken without consequences. There were the rumors. Most assumed that with the loss of her husband during the destruction of Krypton that she'd claimed Commander Danvers as a sexual pet. After all, Astra's marriage to Non was not sanctioned even if Alura and the House of El accepted it, so unorthodox relations would be considered normal for Astra by gossiping nobles.

The Maid of Might held back the shudder at _that_ thought. While never outright spoken, many viewed the Military guild as a primitive albeit necessary evil in their otherwise civilized culture and often equated them to animals, base and distastefully sexual. Kara had no idea if that was true but she'd seen the visceral joy in her Aunt's eyes as they fought. Before her fall from grace, Astra In-Ze had fought for the peace of her world, the safety of her sister and her niece, but that didn't mean that she found such things unappealing.

While Krypton was far more upfront about copulation- even after all these years on Earth she had trouble saying the word sex- she had no desire to imagine what passions her Aunt took to her bedchambers and if she shared them with Alex. Rao forgive her, but for the first time she was grateful for the animosity between Astra and Alex, praying that while it had less lethal results that an echo of it kept the two of them at arm's length.

Not wanting to dwell on thoughts of her Aunt's sex life by any means, Kara Zor-El Danvers turned to the counterpart of her lost childhood friend.

"This prayer…who blessed this craft Thara?"

"I would have thought that to be obvious Lady Danvers…"

The answer that came was not unexpected, but that expectation made it hurt no less.

"Her bondmate. She inscribed it herself."

* * *

This story functions as a challenge to myself to use less dialogue, but I wanted to include the blessing of Commander Danvers' bondmate. Alex's Lantern outfit is inspired by a blending of her motorcycle jacket and Supergirl's costume in the Smallville Season 11 comic ( I really love that coat) but with just the Lantern colors and the material being more like armor rather than spandex/pajamas since she isn't bulletproof. The blessing is a modification of Jor-El's blessing for Kal. Kara's time on Earth is making her miss a very obvious aspect of the blessing. Not sure yet how that is going to go...

Thank you for reading,

Ryu Niiyama


	7. Chapter 7

The Promises we Keep- Chapter 7

By Ryu Niiyama

* * *

Kara Zor-El was a perceptive individual and the Ze blood burned with righteous passion that loved fiercely and never forgave or forgot.

An unmarked SUV drove smoothly through National City traffic, humans going about their lives, not realizing that an alien was within their midst. Earth was something of an enigma to High Chancellor El, Krypton for all of its anti-exploration rhetoric housed some of the greatest scientific repositories of the 28 galaxies. Universally regarded within that voluminous knowledge and by the opinion of countless elder worlds, Earth was a realm of primitive, fragile and exceedingly warlike creatures. Humans were deemed less than children for they existed only to tear each other apart, forever dissatisfied with the bountiful resources that their world provided them and each other.

Yet from this world, so derided and dismissed, came one of the most brilliant minds that Kara Zor-El had the great fortune to know. Scholar Alexandra Danvers embodied the potential of humanity in the Chancellor's eyes. She was Purpose in myriad form her mind agile and sharp, capable of taking on numerous roles and processing large amounts of knowledge through effort and hard work. While naturally highly intelligent, Alexandra wasn't a savant, yet her ability to persistently take knowledge and bend it to her understanding gave her a limitless potential that a genius often lacked. In this way she was something that Krypton could only strive to become.

Yet Alexandra was undeniably, unrepentantly human. Like the rest of her species, Alexandra Danvers was a woman of passion and violence, although hers was self-directed. No one pushed and punished and demanded more of Alexandra Danvers than she did of herself. Her drive was something that spoke to Kara Zor-El's soul, even as her heart despaired of it. It made the human woman a warrior and scholar with few equals and yet it haunted her, driving her to imbibe toxins and push her body to its limits when the loss of her father and burden of being a keeper of a displaced Kryptonian became too great. It drove her to abandon her dreams of becoming a medical doctor and diverted all of her focus to supporting an addition to her family that she never asked for.

A warm hand upon the mesh weave of her armor jolted the noblewoman from her thoughts. She briefly cursed the need for her armor as she turned and offered her driving companion a gentle smile. No words were passed between them, often times they could act with merely a glance shared and her soul sang with joy at thought.

Names were universally important in Kryptonian culture in a way that was not always revered in Earth cultures. More than a labeling mnemonic given to a child on a whim, Kryptonian parents deliberated for months if not years as they waited for approval to be given a child from the birthing matrix. Names were that which called one into being, more than a title, more than the simplicity that a name suggested to name one is to give it Purpose, to call upon one's name is to ask that Purpose to be bestowed upon oneself, be it in the form of friendship, love or even animosity. Kara Zor-El, named for the beauty and majesty of the dawn, for its warmth and gentleness and for its heraldry of a new tomorrow, liked to hope in her heart that when Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers named their daughter as a Defender of life and of knowledge that they understood the Purpose they bestowed upon their child.

As such she always honored Alexandra Danvers with her given name; always Alexandra, never Alex. For _Alexandra_ was a benediction and a plea and a prayer. _Alexandra_ was salvation and beauty and hope. In _Alexandra_ , Kara Zor-El learned the meaning of El Mayara. For this fragile, brilliant, kind human she would become a sword strong enough to cut down any foe. For Alexandra who shielded Kara Zor-El's heart from despair, she would find the strength to endure and bear the burden to rule.

The car pulled into the garage of an apartment building and the two waited until they were certain that there were no residents milling about to allow them to enter the elevator unseen. A quick button combination activated a bypass protocol to take the elevator to the top floor were Alex owned the only loft apartment in the building. Casually the two strode to the door and Alex fumbled for keys that she hadn't used in years. Finally locating the correct key, the Lantern opened the entrance to her apartment, striding in before her guest and manipulating the light control panel near the door.

Within moments the entire apartment went aglow with red light and automated shutters drew blackout curtains over the windows, making the bright red lamps the only source of light within the apartment. Even though this was once her home, Commander Danvers moved motioned for her sovereign to wait, even as she summoned a handgun made from lantern light. Quickly, she cleared each room before returning to the entryway, inviting Kara Zor-El within even as she dismissed the projection within her hand.

"Hold on…there we go. Now you can take off that armor. Do you need another inoculation?"

As she closed the door, Alexandra moved to assist the High Chancellor with removing her armor only to be waved away with a patient smile. Electing to handle her armor herself, the Kryptonian noble began undoing the clasps of the cape from her armor. She paused for the briefest of moments, her ears picking up a whisper but just as easily it was gone again. Her eyes warmed in affection as she looked upon the concerned human.

"Alexandra, I am fine. Please go and be seated and I shall change."

Smiling bemusedly, the green lantern moved away, her uniform becoming robes of Kryptonian design but cut with Earth influences. With the expediency of a warrior, Kara Zor-El removed her armor, coughing a little as she adjusted to the oxygen in the air, but the inoculation she took helped with her breathing. She clenched a fist, grateful that the only power she felt was that which was inherent within her muscles and not the monstrous strength granted by Sol. She'd worked tirelessly to keep the irradiated effects of stars like Sol from her people; developing the emitters that were woven into their armor and containment suits. Krypton's way was that of brilliance and progress; she wouldn't let the allure of power destroy all that her people had built.

More importantly it allowed her to remain a woman when she could have been a goddess. Yet a goddess can only hurt the mortals around her, she can never love and live among them without being an intrusion. Dark azure eyes alighted upon the human that was perusing her music collection, before selecting a jazz record to play. Alexandra Danvers didn't need the love of a goddess, she needed the love of a woman; a woman who could understand her, a woman that could work and live and bleed with her. Kara Zor-El moved closer to her friend, her warrior, her Light and ran her hands with familiar confidence across her shoulders, kneading and massaging the tense muscles. When the human let out a moan, she leaned forward and nuzzled against her ear and nape, moving a hand to deftly undo the binding that held Alexandra's silver kissed auburn fire at bay.

Alexandra took the tie into her own grasp, tucking it into her robes and Kara Zor-El smiled softly at the gesture, She slid her right hand down her Light's right arm, carefully clinking the matching bonding bracelet together, her eyes flashing at the melodious ring of Kandorian Silver cut from the same chunk of ore. Her sentimental bondmate kept the cutting from Kara's own unity robes in her hair; her way of keeping Kara close in a way that others would overlook. Pleased, she let out a lyrical purr, her eyes a brilliant whiteish blue, the bioluminescence a deadly beam of infrared light upon Earth, but under Rao's touch, it was merely an indicator of strong emotion. Emotions that Kara Zor-El had to employ every bit of her diplomatic training to restrain on a daily basis.

How difficult it was to treat the wondrous female in her arms as a mere soldier and scholar. How she struggled to keep her voice neutral and her gaze indifferent even as she burned with pride and affection, arousal and need, joy and protectiveness for her beloved Alexandra. How she longed for nights spent discussing and debating their experiments or latest dissertations. How terror gripped her heart when the duty of the Lantern Corps called her beloved away, holding her hostage until her love was safe within her arms again. The human woman chuckled softly, admonishing her playfully for her amorous behavior and the Kryptonian nipped gently at her beloved's ear before moving away towards the kitchen. Confused by the lack of contact, Alexandra followed her bondmate, arching an eyebrow when Kara bent over to open the stove. The underarmor she wore did little to hide her physique and the human took a moment to admire her beloved's shapely and powerful posterior and legs. Lost in fantasies that she'd been unable to indulge after Nor's escapade, the Lantern started to move closer and finish what her bondmate had started, only to pull up short when Kara stood and turned around, bearing a stasis platter.

Knowing eyes met hers and glowed briefly, proving she was not alone in her affection yet she was asked to set the table. Curious, Alex fumbled around the kitchen she barely remembered to find clean silverware and plates and she busied herself with the table placement. These actions reminded her of home, and she felt a pang of homesickness shoot through her, missing dinners with the family, discussions with Zor and debates and the occasional ribald joke from Alura. Astra had been the warrior that Alex had only seen the barest glimpse of before, her sternness matching her sister's but she bore nothing but warm smiles and gentle hugs for her little ones. Just as quickly the familiar guilt settled in her gut, the belief that she'd stolen the place meant for her sister. The Lantern swallowed a sigh, wondering how different things could have been if her sister had been the one to be thrown into an alternate universe. Surely Kara, with her kindness and sense of justice would have welcomed Alex Danvers' baby sister into her House with open arms.

Before she could work herself into a self-castigating mood, Kara appeared, bearing serving plates full of…oh god, was that a steak? Alex's empty stomach chose that moment to make a very loud protest and Kara chuckled good naturedly. Of course her attentive bondmate would have procured a meal that Alex hadn't had in so long that she'd forgotten what it tasted like. Alex wanted to wonder when or even how Kara had set this up, but she knew that anticipating the needs of others was a skill inherent to both her bondmate and her sister. Kara set the plates, by custom filling her mate's plate first with food as fresh and hot as the moment it had been cooked and Alex moved to the refrigerator finding it fully stocked as she procured pineapple juice, a personal favorite and similar to a drink they often shared at home. Kara held out her chair, brushing her fingers down the nape of her neck as she moved to take her own seat. Alex noted that Kara had very little of the steak on her own plate but plenty of the vegetable and salmon options and she felt the flash of irritation and disappointment that her last experiment had not been successful. How she had wanted to complete it as a gift for Kara, how she ached to give her hardworking and self-sacrificing beloved as many comforts as possible. .Jor:Krypton survived on bartering and their animal stock was not large enough for consumption. Many of their crops had been genetically engineered to produce a higher yield or a more nutritious harvest, many hybrid strains created by Kara or Alex herself.

Her mood lowered slightly, Alex began to speak of Nor and the work that it would take to find him and recover what he had stolen, yet before she could go further a deceptively delicate hand reached out and caressed her own. Tonight was not for difficult conversations or for the lamentation of the greed of others; they had nearly lost each other and tonight would be for them. Let tomorrow bring the responsibilities of Commander Danvers and High Chancellor El. Smiling winningly, Alex shifted the conversation to the happier aspects of her work, her time as a surgeon and bioengineer within the Guild of Thought. Kara answered in kind, where their projects or interests overlapped or gleaning new information about areas that she was not as well versed in. Warm, intimate conversation and heated glances made an exquisite dinner a short affair and they rose to clean the dishes, continuing their conversation as Alex washed and Kara dried. For a moment Alex remembered a time spent doing the same with her sister and then she recalled molten eyes and blinding pain, accusations and abandonment, and in her thoughts of fire and anguish she dropped the plate she was holding. Though not possessing super speed, Kara caught the plate and put it aside before moving behind her lover and wrapping strong, warm arms around her. Kara pulled her beloved snugly into her embrace, pressing her cheek against her temple and holding her Light through her pain.

Alex calmed after a time and she pat a warm hand laced with one of her own and Kara released her slowly and stepped back. Not wanting to destroy the mood any further, the Lantern moved to the open space in the living room area, tugging her bondmate behind her gently and they moved with comfortable ease into a slow dance. Kara Zor-El pulled her beloved closer into her embrace, swaying softly to the music. It always baffled her; she was well over two decades her mate's senior and raised in a culture far more advanced, and yet she and Alexandra always seemed to be in sync. She could credit Kara Danvers, but honestly she would give her counterpart no more acknowledgement than she had to. Better to thank Rao for providence and never take her beloved bondmate for granted.

Lady El pulled her beloved closer, trying not to tremble as fear overcame her. She knew that Alexandra loved her, Rao knows the lengths she'd gone to in order to court the hesitant human with the wounded heart. How it had gutted her to find that this wonderfully intriguing female had not only recognized her but had recoiled from her attempts to strengthen their connection. She remembered the flare of jealousy, wild and unchecked, when she learned that there was a Kara Zor-El that bore Alexandra Danvers' house name, a Kara Zor-El that had shared home and hearth with her. Kara Danvers had been _zrhythrevium_ , family. Lady El been devastated, believing with certainty that this Kara Danvers would have bound herself to Alexandra irrevocably, that the reason for Alexandra's reticence was due to a desire to return to her bondmate.

To this day Lady Kara Zor-El of the houses El and Danvers wasn't sure if the truth was any better. The medical scans they had done on Alex when she first arrived on .Jor Krypton told the harsh story of her life. An arm broken in nearly the same place over decade apart, a liver battered by years of excess toxic consumption, a body littered with scars and damage that spoke of danger, nerve damage in a hand that had been squeezed too tightly by a child with the power of a goddess. The wounds sustained before an awry experiment placed her in Kara Zor-El's lab had put her life in critical condition, but nothing that Kryptoinan medical practices could not reverse and treat. At first she had believed that Alexandra had been abused, or even captured by an alien force. It had appalled Kara Zor-El to learn that she…that her counterpart was the cause.

Kara Danvers had utterly destroyed Alex Danvers' Purpose and that of her House and even now, years later by Earth reckoning Lady El felt humiliation and shame and anger on behalf of her counterpart. The thought that such a _child_ would have been Alexandra Danvers' first exposure to Kara Zor-El, and to Krypton still scalded her soul with shame. Of course the most devastating thing had been that her Light had said none of these things; stories told always forgave Kara Danvers for her recklessness, or swelled with compassion and affection, even when Kara Danvers had hollowed her out and thrown her away as vrazhium, houseless and outcast.

Of course Alexandra blamed herself for an act that her own Aunt Astra had commended her for.

Kara Danvers had left Alexandra Danvers to die, had _let_ her die…and Alexandra's heart held nothing but love, forgiveness and guilt.

Kara Zor-El… _hated_ Kara Danvers.

She hated her as much as she had ever hated anyone and anything in her life. Perhaps even more than the destruction of her planet that cost her and her people so very much. It had taken years before Alexandra could properly separate the two of them, to accept that Kara Zor-El of .Jor:Krypton was not and could not be Kara Danvers. Carefully, with practiced ease, she swallowed down the rage that threatened to sweep her away. Such emotion had no place here. Not when her Light was warm and yielding in her arms, not when her scent called her to her heart. She felt her eyes begin to burn and she purred provocatively at her beloved, leaning down to ghost a gossamer light kiss between her brows and to trail down to the tip of her nose before capturing Alexandra's lips in a kiss that was both devastating and calming.

She loved her sweet zrhemin with her mouth, the human caress familiar and intoxicating, while her purr hitched into a growl when she felt Alexandra's fingers at her neck caressing with light pressure in Kryptonian custom. They parted with deliberate, sensual lassitude and Kara found herself leaning forward and ghosting their lips together gently once more before she allowed herself to pull back. Alexandra rolled her eyes slightly, likely in response to the fact that Kara usually kept her glowing eyes open when kissing, her superior vision able to still focus on her features so close so she never had the instinctive need to shield her sight. Yet she loved seeing her Alexandra like this, for her heart's Light kissed the way she fought, the way she worked, and certainly the way she made love; with precision, care and absolute focus.

Kara was a woman of slow courtship, but she ached and burned for her beloved tonight. Ghosts of a living specter with eyes too bright and hair pale and boiling of a bond not of blood but one that tried to be haunted her stout heart. The thought of sisterhood, even scorned, made her fearful and made her question the truth she held in her soul. For in her heart seeing Alura and Astra who would forsake all else for each other and Kara alone, made her wonder would Alexandra forsake Kara Zor-El for Kara Danvers? A warm hand moved to wipe at tears that she didn't realize were falling and soft, gentle lips kissed her in reverence and healing. A smile both rakish and understanding graced her Light's face when they parted and Alexandra pulled her close so that she could whisper within her ear.

".khap:zhaol te:Kara, I need you."

The words, simple yet achingly, deliciously vulgar were a kindness between them, a plea for completion that only the other could provide. Te:zehdh. Purpose sang in Kara's heart, not to rule, but to love, to protect and cherish and to take that which was offered freely. For that right and honor she would give everything in return. Her hands found her lover's fit waist and she lifted her up with negligent strength, her ego and her heart buoyed by the delighted squeal that Alexandra would swear later that she didn't emit and she nuzzled against her briefly, before sliding her hands lower to cradle her close.

"With joy and passion ehl:zeht, te:Alexandra however you desire."

* * *

Zrhythrevium-family

Vrazhium-outcast/houseless

Zrhemin-wife

te:zhao-lover

khap:zhaol-fuck me

Ehl:zeht-morning star (allusion to venus and Alex's human culture)


	8. Chapter 8

The Promises we Keep- Chapter 8

By: Ryu Niiyama

Just in case I don't make this obvious this chapter takes place at the same time and hours after the preceding one. Things may get ugly from here on out (and we still have a villain to deal with, ha!). Also I apparently I revealed a plot point too early before correcting it, if you caught it… good on you. (the hazards of being one's own beta reader, means I have to read my own work several times to make sure I catch mistakes or rework plot.)

* * *

Time, does not heal all wounds and some things once done, can never be undone.

Somewhere in the arctic south a red, blue and blonde blur plunged into the frigid boundless waters, diving with speed only checked enough that she wouldn't hurt the denizens of the sea. She could no longer feel Sol's inflaming caress, but still she dove until her out stretched fist bit into the sea floor and she knelt there. It was as if the creatures of the deep could sense the grief and rage of this alien within their midst, and they made themselves scarce as Supergirl rocked back onto her heels and pushed her hands tightly against her eyes to keep the boiling heat that spilled forth from heating the water around her or hurting another.

Pain and rage and hurt and loss rampaged within her spirit like a maelstrom. Taking all that she was and leaving it twisted and mangled and broken. She couldn't stop it, her perfect memory supplying images she didn't want to see and sounds she didn't want to hear. She could understand it, couldn't comprehend how everything had become so wrong… how the hope she'd nurtured since finding Alex once again had been so defiled.

Not caring that she was several thousand leagues underwater, the Kryptonian expelled her held breath in a scream. She screamed and screamed and screamed; the sound waves powerful enough to pierce through the boundless waters and echo hauntingly within the arctic landscape. Still, her mind would not let her know peace as memory held her an unwilling captive.

Supergirl snapped awake from her dozing perch several hundred feet above Alex's apartment. She'd arrived about half an hour ago after stemming a mudslide in Chile. She didn't use her powers as casually as Kal did, but it hadn't taken much for her to drift off lightly as she waited for the sound of Alex's heartbeat to return close. She was determined to make things right. Determined to earn Alex's forgiveness and to move forward, with Alex by her side and she'd hoped that away from duty and the DEO or the New Kryptonians, she could do just that. She frowned as she recognized another, inhuman heartbeat next to Alex's soothing cadence and she drifted upright.

Supergirl's face scrunched in annoyance as she recognized the precise, calm tones of High Chancellor El's voice, the noble likely wanting to rake Alex over the coals for her perceived failure to anticipate Nor-Zar's betrayal. The Maiden of Might activated her x-ray and telescopic vision to allow her to clearly see into Alex's apartment; noting the crimson light that bathed the space in a facsimile of Rao's light. Although she could hear and see them perfectly fine at her current altitude, the super heroine surged closer and practically skid ungracefully to a stop as she watched Lady El pause as if she heard something. With no personal reference for being Kryptonian normal on Earth, the heroine floated carefully, hoping that she would remain undetected. The noblewoman shook her head as if to clear it and she began to remove her armor.

Dark fawn colored hair spilled in thick gleaming waves down her shoulders only to be tied back in a braid that whispered at her waist. Eyes dark as the twilight sky scanned the apartment landing on pictures and various knickknacks. Kara felt violation on behalf of her sister, annoyed that Lady El would choose Alex's home to berate her. Her augmented gaze catalogued her counterpart's physique, noting the armor had dwarfed her form somewhat and somewhere in the back of her mind her vanity was piqued.

Physical appearance standards were different in Kryptonian culture. Genetic tailoring ensured that everyone, even the casteless, were a baseline aesthetic while further modification to ensure one's Purpose prompted their diversity. The rest was determined by personal regiment and grooming. Yet the Maid of Might couldn't look upon Lady El and see only herself…she saw a woman of beauty, strength and elegance that dwarfed her own effortlessly. With a grimace she realized that Earth conditioning made Supergirl aware of and mildly envious of the cup and a half size difference between them, a feature that had been de-emphasized by the fit of Lady El's armor.

Tactile contact was revered differently upon Krypton, a world where thoughts and actions were considered carefully before acting, where respect, ritual and personal space was paramount to action. Where words were the foundation upon which action stood upon and any that spoke them carelessly bore a weak mind and a reprobate spirit. She frowned as she watched Lady El's assessing eyes land upon her sister and she glowered at the noblewoman. Would it be rude to drop in unannounced? Would Alex welcome the reprieve from her boss?

The Lantern dismissed her armor and mask, leaving only her robes that were Kryptonian in style, although she couldn't see the house crest upon her breast from the way she was facing. Kara Zor-El Danvers' heart trebled at the sight of her sister wearing the garb of her lost world with such ease and comfort. Chancellor El moved behind Alex and Kara frowned as she watched her counterpart remove her hair tie and hand it to her sister. Kara Danvers gasped slightly at the sight of auburn fire slightly kissed with silver flowing freely and with sensual wildness across her shoulders and down her back. It had been so long since she'd seen Alex with long hair; she adored the "badass professional" look that her sister had worn for years, but the part of her that was still purely Kara Zor-El was enamored with Alex's thick russet waves.

Confusion lit the heroine's face as she watched Lady El remain within Alex's personal space even as she remembered warm hugs and cuddles while consuming copious amounts of potstickers and ice-cream on the couch. Lady El didn't belong there; that place was for her and Alex. The heroine had been so lost in thought that she lost focus on the apartment below, the walls becoming solid once again. A sonorous clink, different in pitch than she recalled from her past, but familiar enough that she snapped back into her enhanced vision so quickly that it gave her a mild headache.

She watched Lady El, holding Alex in a way that was not the way a noble should touch her retainers. By Rao, her counterpart was a lech, abusing her power to… Kara's thoughts skipped, stuttered and then died as she watched the amorous High Chancellor nuzzle her face against Alex's nape, burrowing her face in her rich mane before she nipped at her ear and pulled away.

Why…why didn't Alex fight back or push her away or scream? Kryptonians were naturally stronger than humans…was Alex unable to fight a monster that wore her sister's face?

Rising anger stumbled into confusion as Alex seemed to welcome Lady El's touches and it looked like she was actually cruising her ass while the noblewoman pulled something out of the stove. Supergirl scrubbed her hands against her face, certain that she was sleep deprived or maybe she inhaled some of the mud earlier, but there had to be an explanation for this. When she focused her vision and hearing into the apartment once again the two were seated and discussing the rogue Kryptonian. Supergirl dropped a few meters from the sky as she watched the noblewoman let out a warm, seductive laugh at something Alex said, her gaze warm upon Supergirl's sister.

High Chancellor El's eyes were glowing…normally that meant heat vision, but the echoes of a memory made her unsure. She remembered when she had been very young, she had been unable to sleep and had begun to wander to the kitchen to get something to drink. She'd stopped because she heard her parents speaking together in low tones. Curious, she'd peeked into the sitting room; her mother had stroked her father's cheek with such gentleness, but there was an intent there that she didn't understand at the time. Her mother's eyes had begun to glow and her father had laughed warmly before pulling her into his embrace. Kara had tiptoed back to bed after that, not wanting to disturb her often busy parents or deny them time together.

The snippet of memory forced disbelief and confusion to the forefront as her heart shouted and her soul screamed making it impossible for her mind to piece together what grew plainer at every passing moment. Her powerful gaze watched them but she couldn't comprehend what she was seeing. It didn't make sense, Lady El was so distant, so cold before, how could she hold Alex so tenderly now? Why would Alex allow it?

Differences between them aside Kara Zor-El was the sister of Alex Danvers. Earth had a strict definition of what that meant and how it governed how one should act and think and feel; didn't Kara struggle for years against that term? Had she not been confused that she was expected to treat Alex as if they shared blood? No Kryptonian adoption was so bewildering, but Kara had adapted because in time Alex had felt as if they had been born of the same mother. In Kara's heart they had always been more than that, but the concept of Te:zehdh or El Mayarah didn't exist on Earth and the translations stripped the concepts of their true worth. But Sister had been the only concept that Alex and Kara had been given, and though it never fit properly for her, it had been enough.

So why, why was Alex holding and being held by Lady El so closely with an undercurrent of intent so different from when Alex held her? Why did they sway softly to the sounds of a record in Alex's prized and expansive music collection? Alex and Kara had always been tactile, the necessity of Earth acclimation and remnants of her upbringing ensured that they'd always touched in ways that humans might construe to have other meanings. Yet they had never danced like that before; Alex had refused to teach her by example. The odd, pointed rejection had stung then, but as she grew into Earth culture she assumed it was due to a violation of sisterhood here on Earth. She glanced upward, tears stinging her eyes and her heart clenched in a kryptonite vice.

Yet it was the next words that she heard that destroyed everything that Kara Danvers was and would ever be.

".khap:zhaol te:Kara, I need you."

She had never heard such words spoken directly to herself or at all; the loss of her planet before her maturity into adulthood had ensured that she would never hear an entreaty of such longing and need within her lifetime. Yet surely she heard wrong, or Alex - precise, knowledgeable, perfectionist Alex- had misspoken. Yet her mind flashed upon the lover's prayer, words of love and protection that only came alive at her touch…no at Kara Zor-El's touch…words that the woman that wore her face and lived her life had forged for the woman that was her Light.

Supergirl flinched as Lady El lifted Alex against her powerful form, her lips meeting Alex's in a passionate kiss as she wandered through the apartment to Alex's bedroom. Lady El gentled her caress as she set Alex to her feet; she didn't touch Alex like she was made of glass but she lost the some frenzied urgency from before. Alex arched into devastatingly sweet and patiently sensual kisses, letting out soft moans, the like that Supergirl had only heard the few times her superhearing had accidentally tuned in on Alex during their later teenage years.

They removed each other's robes, an action unnecessary for a Lantern that could dismiss her clothing at will, but they moved with sensual reverence and boundless love and unrepentant need, hands and warm mouths and strong, teasing teeth devouring every inch of their revealed forms. Alex drew backwards onto the bed, her emerald eyes flashing to her natural warm brown for a moment as she tugged Kara Zor-El to her with little effort. The New Kryptonian kissed Alex once more, laying the human beneath her with steady, familiar ease.

Kara Danvers' mind screamed at her to leave; rage, jealousy and voyeuristic embarrassment clogging her throat even as arousal immolated her form second hand. It hurt even as it inflamed her to hear Alex whispering and moaning and sighing and screaming for _Kara_ ; to see her hands, and lips and body caress _Kara_ until the Kryptonian was an incoherent mess, not even able to speak in Kryptonese as she clung to her bondmate in the crimson glow. It wasn't right to see the bright silver of their bond bracelets glitter with the matching hue that would be unique only to them as their fingers intertwined and gripped and caressed. It wasn't right to see Alex's hands spearing though chestnut hair, her sweaty forehead resting against the equally satisfied Kryptonian in her arms before straddling her and kissing her torridly. It decimated her watching them begin again, their passions no less diminished as they loved each other with hands and mouths and bodies eager for completion that only the other could provide.

Kara Danvers shut her eyes and slammed her hands over her ears but still she could hear them, she could _feel_ them below, the love that should have been hers taken away by an imposter. She could hear their declarations of love unending bracketed by shouts and moans and whimpers of passion irresistible. She lurched upwards, drunkenly, but still slowly enough that she would make no discernible sound, rising until she was far enough away to push through the atmosphere with all of her pain to bear.

She remembered Red K, as she lay in wait for Alex to come to her. She'd been so angry, yet it was different from the rage of being alone or of being the Witness. She detested the restrictions that Earth demanded that those around her conform to. She absolutely seethed with rage at the thought of her sister. She wanted to hurt Alex the way that she hurt her, for betraying family, for treating her like a child…for not _seeing_ her for who she was. Kara Danvers was Alex Danvers', annoying but naïve and happy kid sister. Yet Kara Zor-El had no sister, Kara Zor-El was a capable and confident noble of the Great House of El. Kara Zor-El was a woman that Alex Danvers should have wanted and needed and held in her heart …the same way that Kara Zor-El felt for Alex. She raged against Alex's obliviousness even as she grieved for all that had been stolen from her.

Yet her anger, her fury at the loss of her Aunt, at what she erroneously perceived as Alex's true nature revealed made her frustration cruel, her longing bitter, and her loneliness into rage unquenchable. The word sister had been a curse, an albatross that her weary heart had borne along with the rest of her pain, but the word kinkiller had nearly destroyed Alex and Kara both. Kara Zor-El Danvers gave the woman that was her Light a broken arm, a broken heart and an ultimatum. She remembered laying on that biobed, hearing Alex come in, seeing her arm and the guilt and humiliation and grief and the _need_ eroded the apology she meant to issue, leaving only emotions that could be expressed as pain. Pain enough that she could cast Alex out, Pain enough that rather than face her actions…the fact that without Hank's intervention she would have …would have…

Jolted back to the present, Kara Zor-El Danvers shot out of the frigid waters that she couldn't truly feel, her suit wicking away the water and her blond hair hanging limply about her shoulders. Weakly, she tumbled into a free-fall into the tundra, her emotions battering her worse than any super-villain had ever done. She could still see and hear them in her heart; her Alex, who had still not called Kara Danvers' by name, instead bestowing such acknowledgement upon another. Alex's burning gaze for Lady El had been hesitant and almost afraid when she looked upon Kara Danvers. Alex's hands and warm arms had not embraced Kara Danvers even once since her return, yet she caressed and held and clung to Lady El.

It was difficult for Kara Zor-El Danvers to get sick under Sol's light, but the thought of what she could have done under Red K, the darkness that commanded her to either take or ruin, and the devastation that she had let into her life churned even her stomach. She thought of her Light, shining and brilliant and beautiful and now a Kara Zor-El that could protect her, that could provide home and hearth for her laid waste to the pitiful place once occupied by her sister. She retched up her last meal onto the pristine arctic snow-scape until she lay weak and spent upon frigid snow. She wept for dreams realized in the form of a Kryptonian that wore her face and bore her heritage and lived the life that should have been hers.

Kara Zor-El stole the heart that should have belonged to Kara Zor-El Danvers. By her hand Alex only knew pain, but by Kara Zor-El of New Krypton's hand…

The thought of them, bodies intertwined and moving with yearning passionate intent. Languidly seeking and providing pleasure and succor as they touched and kissed and caressed with easy, reverent familiarity. She couldn't accept this, she couldn't bear it.

She felt adrift as if her name had no meaning; she was no longer the noble that left her dying home to care for the last of her blood kin, yet she was no longer the quiet, false human that honored her loss with shining smiles and swallowed rage. She was not the mimicry of a manchild that was clumsy and ill-suited to science, yet revered as a god and hero. _Who_ was she now? In a world where the keeper of her heart was nearly afraid of her even as she clung to a usurper that wore her face.

Supergirl?

Kara Zor-El?

Kara Danvers?

Who did she wish to be? Which would be worthy of the boundless love that Alex Danvers gave so easily to another Kara? Would she allow all that she loved to keep being taken away from her?

The Last Daughter of Krypton drove her fist into the snow, rage eating away the heartache.

No, she would not stand by and do nothing. She would no longer be the Witness. She would no longer follow where she should lead. Would she allow Lady El to take away the Light that kept her from the darkness?

 _No, she would not._

* * *

I really didn't even mean to work on this chapter today as I have other fics needing my attention… but my muse never listens to me anyway.

As always I have to lampshade the physical differences between powergirl/woman and supergirl/woman (she has to become a woman at some point DC…) for my eternal amusement. I mean we all know cup size is the most common female superpower, but I swear comics feel like adolescent fanfiction accepted by the masses sometimes. For anybody that doesn't read the comics the one of the very oddly obvious differences between Supergirl and Power Girl is breast size…but they are the same person…under Sol… so yeah ok.

I will gleefully admit to this chapter essentially the end cap scene in Lois and Clark when Clark (who through his bumbling and jealousy pushes Lois right into Lex Luthor's clutches) sees Lois accept his proposal and he flies off to the arctic and then screams, extended out to make it hurt more. Even though it was his own fault, that scene really stuck with me since childhood (I still say if Clark had been Clarke she would have found another way to alert Lois to Lex's evil and still earn her affections…). I'm mean to characters, I know.

Also just a quick note… the point of this fic is not to unduly criticize Kara Danvers or praise Kara Zor-El: it's just actions have consequences and people should take more care to what they say before they say it. Lest they lose everything and can't make it right again. Also keep in mind that so far most of this is from Kara (both of them) or Hank's perspective…Alex hasn't weighed in yet… and she will.

Ryu

8/2018


	9. Chapter 9

The Promises we Keep- Chapter 9

By: Ryu Niiyama

Please note the sparse dialogue is intentional. This fic is a writing exercise (also it would be about 4 times as long otherwise).

* * *

A love that risks nothing, is worth nothing.

Lady Alexandra Elizabeth Danvers of the House of El rose with pleasant lethargy that briefly soured to annoyance as she realized that the solid warmth of her bondmate's embrace was gone… and had been for some time judging by the coolness of the sheets. She grimaced good-naturedly, not angry with Kara, but sometimes wishing their lives were simpler. Of course only she would have bonded to a woman that was as much as a workaholic as she was. Her Dawn was a woman of honor and obligation and even though she had put aside their duties last night and well into the early morning she knew that Kara couldn't resist the siren call of duty for long.

Alex smiled as she stood and after making the bed, began her morning stretches and work out. It was odd, almost debilitating, to feel the lighter gravity and thinner atmosphere of Earth again. Though she no longer needed the hearing aids or braces that defined her early acclimation to .Jor:Krypton and Kara compromised with a median gravity and oxygen count within their home, she didn't feel like she had her equilibrium on Earth. She hadn't had to consider it much as she 'd been preparing to die, never daring to hope that she'd survive long enough to bring Nor-Zar to justice and find a way home. At the very least she had hoped to leave data for Var to find and a good bye note to her beloved family. She thought of the recording she had yet to delete before she passed out from her wounds in her ship, a final goodbye to all that she loved…only to find salvation in the most unlikely of sources.

On her 200th push up, Alex let her mind wander to the issues at hand. She'd never expected to step foot on a Earth again, let alone the actual planet of her birth. It seemed like a dream of an alien world now; she wasn't the emotionally gutted shell of a woman that Director Danvers had been, yet it seemed that old wounds bled just as freshly despite the distance of time. Her heart let out a solemn sigh and she felt that space that would remain forever empty pang just a little harder than normal.

Kara.

She didn't, couldn't put into words what she felt seeing Supergirl...seeing her sister, even if Kara didn't want her, again. The old shame that she never quite escaped clawed at her heart as well as the fear. Not of Kara Danvers…even as she stared down eyes glowing with disdain and hatred she could never fear Kara, who only wanted to be helpful so far away from the lands of her ancestors. She feared the burden she once again added to the sister that would not claim her, an unremarkable human that could only darken her sister's brilliance. Hadn't Kara accused her of that herself, when her truest thoughts were laid bare and raw? Alex was deemed unworthy of Kara Danvers' radiance, only allowed to live by her infinite mercy and when death came to claim her… _Kara_ had granted her reprieve from that as well.

The Lantern frowned and then flushed in annoyance. She hadn't conflated her bondmate and her sister for a long time and yet it wasn't a lapse, but rather an understanding of the inherent nature of Kara Zor-El. Be she ruler of the last of her people, or a hero to Earth's, Kara Zor-El's greatest virtue would always be that of benevolence. Yet even such kindness knew its limits.

Alex jumped up and walked into her gym, grateful that J'onn had left everything as is. When she left National City she didn't take much with her, knowing that the dead had no need of possessions. Her work was dangerous and she knew that death would claim her sooner rather than later. The only reason she kept the deed to the place was so that it could function as a safe house for Kara if she needed it. With ease she jumped up and grasped the pull up bar, working herself methodically through her paces and her thoughts drifted to her bondmate. Kara thought herself hidden, but Alex knew her better than anyone; Kara was a woman of Purpose and for her she had found her truest one within their bond. Yet with a Kara that Alex had grown up with…a Kara that Alex had loved first, she felt adrift. Alex could feel it in kisses that were too frantic, some of their easy connection bleeding away as fear clutched her Dawn's heart. Even though Kara had always been the one to insist she was not Kara Danvers that declaration manifested as a fear that she tried to hide from Alex and perhaps even herself constantly.

Alex grunted, dropping from the bar and she lowered herself to her knees before settling into a seiza posture. It had taken time, far more time than Kara ever should have given her, but she knew the difference between the girl that landed on her doorstep and the noblewoman that gave her a second chance at life. She had wounded her Dawn with her fears and her guilt, yet Kara never wavered, determined to help the woefully damaged human no matter the cost.

The cost had been a heart…a price demanded of each of them.

Kara, who quoted the Kryptonian penal code in chronological order under her breath when she was stressed or annoyed, the familiarity of her mother's calling as soothing as a lullaby. Kara, who guarded her words carefully, in part because of her upbringing but also because of her reverence for the purity and clarity of precise communication. Kara, who grew up far too fast, the fate of her House thrust upon her shoulders at the age of thirteen but who loved presents and play with the joy of a child. Kara who was not a reluctant yet ultimately exuberant heroine, but rather a confident and solemn ruler, a brilliant scientist and skilled warrior and yet she still felt that she was not enough. Kara had been savior, guardian, mentor, sovereign, friend, lover and finally, joyously, bondmate and all that entailed.

Te:Kara… _her_ Kara; her brilliant Dawn that heralded a new tomorrow.

Her thoughts drifted to her sister, to Kara who had lost more than anyone should ever have to in any universe. Kara, who honored her people with prayers to Rao every morning and every night, Kara who abandoned science and math because the pain of learning how the world worked and doing so incorrectly made her El blood freeze. Kara, who had been banned from every buffet restaurant within a 250 mile radius of Midvale; Kara who believed in Eliza and Clark and Alex most of all but ignored herself. Kara who carried a plane on her back to save a life that should have ended then; Kara who paid the price of that choice in the form of losing her world a second time in black dreams and then the Aunt that wore her mother's face and carried the last of Krypton within her heart. Kara, who finally after having lost everything a second time had the courage to cast aside the ruinous kinkiller that she had been forced to call sister.

Even to this day, even knowing and having been praised by Astra In-Ze for her actions, Alex could feel her blade sliding deep into Astra, she could hear her gasps and see Kara's tears. That alone was her greatest fear… to visit such horror upon the family that took her in.

After all, everything she touches she destroys.

Her mother lost her husband because Alex didn't keep Kara hidden; her mother lost a daughter because Alex became nothing more than a failure. J'onn lost a daughter all over again because he dared to take a failure into his heart. Kara…Kara kept losing everything, her culture, her freedom, her family. Even the family Earth had given her, Alex took away. She could only hope that the years without her had granted her sister some form of peace. By her calculations she'd been gone from Kara's side for nearly three years; time enough for her sister to recover from the loss of Astra and to fulfill her potential.

Her heart lurched at the though of her mother...a part of her wanted to share the joys of her life with the woman that had given her so much. Yet she discarded the thought as soon as it formed; Eliza Danvers needed a daughter that could be there for her, one that she could be proud of and place her trust in. Alexandra Danvers had failed at that time and time again, and her mother wouldn't understand, she would see her choice in bondmate as a perversion, and while she could bear her mother's disappointment, she could not do that to her Dawn, whose only crime was to stubbornly tend to her shattered heart. Kara Danvers would be the daughter that Eliza dreamed of and she was certain that the fight she'd picked with her mother before she became Director and the lack of contact between them since would ensure that. Her mother deserved a daughter that shone as a beacon and none shone brighter than Supergirl.

She'd been curious about the new suit; it would seem that she finally talked Schott in to ditching the skirt which was tactically inane anyway and likely one of his fantasies and Kara's kindness put to cloth. Instead Kara wore a form fitting suit, of Kevlar weave with a high collar, mimicking the under tunics of Krypton. The crest of the House of El had been enlarged, and reincorporated the yellow of synergy along with the red of altruism, standing out proudly against the blue of peace that served as the El house colors. Her cape stemmed from her shoulders, similar to Ka-Clark's but it bore the crest of her House in purest white, one of the colors of the house of Ze.

It would seem that Kara had flourished without Alex to impede her. Pride swelled bright and painful in her heart and she lamented the hesitant sadness that her return had placed in Kara's bright blue eyes. Her sister had been right to banish her. Perhaps she had even been right when she tried to kill her under the grip of Red K. Before, Alex would have gladly given Kara her pound of flesh. Before, she would have spiraled until finally she earned her rest…but she was no longer that woman. She owed Kara her life…a life paid for a life taken, but she couldn't grant even her beloved sister that recompense. Kara Danvers was owed her life, but Kara Zor-El was owed her soul. She couldn't let her sister kill her when she had found a purpose of her own.

Dark azure eyes that glowed with happiness and need, long dark fawn colored hair that Alex brushed every night and braided every morning that they shared together. A personality so stern and logical that one almost missed that refreshingly, biting, dry wit that never failed to make Alex smile or laugh. A brilliant mind nimble enough to run circles around Alex and yet hands, callused from training and building that touch with casual strength and ruffling hair, bringing about annoyed huffs and twin eye rolling. Loyalty unwavering given to her people first, but to family she would give her own life without hesitation. For her sovereign and her for her sister she would die, but for her bondmate she would live. She could only hope that one day her sister would forgive and forget her. This was why she had to stop Nor; once brought to justice she and her bondmate could return home, where they caused no interruption to the daily lives of those that called Earth home.

Rising, emerald green flashed and Commander Danvers of the House of El and Green Lantern of .Jor:Krypton, took to the skies.

Within the DEO, Hank Henshaw studied the two Kryptonians within his war room. General Var, was both oddly deferential and quietly menacing as she spoke to one of the Analysts that came from the New Kryptonian vanguard ship. He'd given them access to scrubbed orbital telemetry both in the hopes of helping them triangulate Nor-Zar's location as well as giving him an easy way to keep them within his reach. With General Var isolated, there was only Chancellor El.

She confused him most of all. She had the bearing that Kara Danvers had buried so deeply that it only came out in incongruent spurts, jagged edges where her human mask didn't quite fit. Chancellor El seemed almost opposite somehow. She was quietly polite and stern, yet there was something different in her body language when they spoke of or she was near Alex. The Martian frowned, annoyed that his inability to read the Kryptonian mind was due to their physiology and not due to powers. None of the Kryptonians here had powers but their minds were just as blank to him now as ever.

The Manhunter frowned when he realized that he recognized the Analyst. He didn't move with the over confidence of a hero or the trite clumsiness that spoke to his true nature, but there was no mistaking Kara's younger cousin. The young noble looked agitated as he spoke to General Var and Hank wondered just how many more of counterparts Kara's family would they have to contend with. Would Astra be a foe to be vanquished once more? Would this Superman become a force working against the DEO? The Martian arched an eyebrow as he watched the General reach her limit and he realized that at the very least this Kal-El would be no threat.

"Run the numbers again Analyst."

"General Var, I can assure you-"

"Again. Run the numbers again."

"…Of course, General."

Analyst El nodded and moved away, and Hank motioned for Agent Grey to escort him back to the vanguard ship. The Martian moved forward as he watched Alex stride into the command center, garbed in her Lantern uniform. He fought down the smile of pride as his eyes alighted once again upon the mimicry of his own uniform branded into Alex's in Lantern White. How it warmed his soul to know that Alex considered him family just as much as he did her. Especially now that he knew the truth of her. He could only hope that she would cling to that and know that he only had her best interests at heart.

Without prompting, General Var explained that their attempts to triangulate Nor-Zar's whereabouts were proving fruitless.

"I still say that the boy shouldn't be working on this."

"He is just trying to help, General…and he is good at his job, he just wants to be useful."

"Nor is his friend…"

"So? Will you suspect everyone that Nor came in contact with or do you only have baseless conjecture?"

Hank's eyes narrowed in suspicion as he watched Alex pin Var with a look, momentarily confused by the apparent flip in their social hierarchy. Alex had a willful streak of course, but she never leaned outright into insubordination. Yet the General's body language remained neutral as she rescinded her veiled accusation.

Alex opened her mouth to speak but her words were strangled into a breathless squeak as she sunk to her knees clutching her head. General Var and Hank both rushed to her side only to be blown back as the brilliant flash of the emerald light of Will was the only warning given as the Lantern leapt into the air, just barely escaping the bay doors without shattering them.

She stood looking over the horizon, the optics overlay in her armor allowing her to view the charming dwelling by the sea. The abode was comforting, although she wondered why the Danvers' chose to place their family in such a dangerous locale. Even after all this time, Alexandra's assurances that the seas of Earth were safe were not enough to ease her natural weariness. Still, this was the home of Alexandra's mother, Elizabeth Ann Danvers, a scholar of some repute even now. This was Alexandra's family home, this place her town of birth, this world… a home she could return to.

It pained her that her Light had abandoned all thoughts of returning home, that she bore her happiness as penance...for crimes that were only committed in her own mind. She'd heard Alexandra's rendition of her life, and in each telling she painted herself as a monster, a trait of a protector that could not abide failure. No matter the losses endured, no mother that truly loved her daughter would ever rejoice upon her loss...upon her death. She would never get to meet the woman that had given her beloved life, but she could reunite them...a final expression of gratitude for the joyous privilege of having known Alexandra Danvers' love. A part of her, possessive and aching with yearning, lamented that Nor-Zar had forced her hand so soon. She had wanted time...time to prepare, time to bask in her Light before she looked to Rao to guide her through the darkness, yet she would put her love above all else...even her own life. She had sworn it upon the Jewel of Truth, and no Kryptonian would dare break such an oath, lest they lose Purpose itself.

Kara Zor-El of .Jor:Krypton sighed softly, an action that was not one she indulged in often, but in this case she felt it fitting. She'd worked for years to try to reverse the circumstances that stranded her beloved Alexandra on .Jor:Krypton, but she supposed she didn't factor falling in love with the wondrous human or being bonded to her. She didn't calculate the impact that the life that they'd built would have upon not only themselves but .Jor:Krypton as well. Alexandra's influence was felt in her rule and in subtle changes to Kryptonian culture. With the backing of house Ze and the ear of House El along with her scientific acumen, despite having to just about start over as her Earth education was supplanted by Krypton's superior knowledge, Alexandra had become a welcome wind of change in a culture cast literally adrift. The labor guild was given a seat on the council, something that even Kara had not had the perspective and foresight to allow, giving a voice and a house name to the casteless. The labor guild took on the names of Azikiwe, Li, Sato, Garcia and Smith to represent their individual factions and taking inspiration from common surnames of Earth.

Alexandra had brought equality to tradition and her might as a Lantern and brilliance as a Scholar and Healer brought fresh innovation and perspective to a culture too wizened to view the universe simply. Alexandra brought joy, pulling out the impish aspects that her mother and aunt hid behind decorum and sternness and to her father who drowned in his brother's shadow even after his death she brought peace and a sympathetic ear.

Her heart shattered. This is what she'd worked so hard to have come to pass. To give to Alexandra what Kara Zor-El would never truly know again…home. Home for her was no longer in a world that orbited Rao's embrace, rather in long auburn hair and impish smiles, in warm arms and deep laughter…home had taken the form of a woman…but to give that same woman her home, Kara Zor-El would have to undo _everything_. But to do so…she could only hope her parents would forgive her, and that perhaps they would one day understand why she chose to cleave her very soul and her very blood, to lose everything and find solace in Rao's Light. Kal was of age and he would flourish under Alura and Zor-El's guidance until he could vie for a seat upon the council. Alexandra would have a support system that would allow her family to thrive. All would be well...in time.

Yet home also meant returning Alexandra to the one that had betrayed and abandoned her. To do so and leave her Light without her protection and love…it seemed profoundly and intrinsically wrong. She had hoped that Kara Danvers wasn't truly so foolish as to throw away her bond with Alexandra for one that had essentially become a stranger, love for Aunt Astra be damned. Yet she had, although not with ease it would seem. She could easily read the contrite yearning within her younger counterpart's lighter hued eyes. Her casual impediments in allowing the so called Supergirl any chance alone with Alexandra had been deliberate. She couldn't hear her bondmate's heartbeat, but she knew Alexandra well enough to note when she was ill at ease.

She couldn't give up everything if it only meant leaving Alexandra exposed to such hurt and pain again. It was enough her bondmate still suffered from nightmares and guilt that she thought went unseen. The head of the House of El clenched a fist at the sense of failure that raked angry furrows upon her soul. She could not ease her beloved's pain no matter how much time had passed; such failure left her feeling inadequate, even though she knew that Alexandra would argue against that.

She turned her face towards Sol, wondering what life Alexandra led underneath its golden gaze. She wondered at the child that moved towards her bright future, the adolescent that adjusted to having that future taken away by Krypton's orphans, the woman that rose above her pain to become warrior, scholar, sister and friend. She wouldn't trade a moment of her time with Alexandra, but sometimes she wondered at a bond so very close to blood, and she wondered if she could have done better or would she have fallen into despair just as easily as her counterpart. Yet she would grant her counterpart no mercy. If she had to lose everything then at the very least she would ensure everlasting happiness for her soul's ease.

With her duller senses she didn't hear the sonic boom until it was too late. Even with her rebreather, Lady Kara Zor-El couldn't help but let out a great expulsion of air as she was impacted and carried aloft.

* * *

This one went over my imposed limits so I'm going to have to trim the bloat next chapter. sigh.


	10. Chapter 10

The Promises we Keep: Chapter 10

By: Ryu Niiyama

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Love can be a shield…Love can be a weapon.

Lady El tucked and rolled as she was deposited onto desert sands, coming to a stop on her knees she looked up and was not surprised to see Supergirl floating above her against a backdrop of storm clouds with glowing eyes and her face twisted in anger. Summoning every ounce of her grace and bearing, the sovereign of .Jor:Krypton rose and dusted herself off, her crimson cape flaring in the wind.

"Supergirl. I trust there is a suitable reason for this…abduction?"

The Maid of Might clenched her fists glaring at the nonchalant tone of the High Chancellor. Her calm and poise in the face of Supergirl's power only served to spike her already raging temper higher. This copy, this fraud dared to act as if she had done nothing wrong.

"'I claim blood's price against you. You have attempted to break a bond unbreakable, you seek to trespass upon Te:zehdh."'

The serenity of Lady El shattered in that moment, and her face mirrored the floating Kryptonian above her, if only briefly. Incredulous rage filled her, her eyes glowing with indolent power but just as deadly intent. "You dare accuse me? You, who cast her aside, you who left her to die?! You are an oathbreaker, you joined your house with hers, and you turned your back on that… for what? You have no claim to an offense for Alexandra-El is neither blood nor family in your eyes!"

Kara Zor-El frowned at her Earthling counterpart. She kept her face devoid of the disdain and loathing that scorched her bones, knowing her words would be enough. Let Kara Danvers wage war in the manner of Earth, violence and threats and destructive anger, she would meet her challenge with the law and logic of Krypton. Legally, Alexandra kept her house name just as any other female upon .Jor:Krypton, however with same sex couples the lower caste mate possessed a short name which took the house name they married into. Trivial, but it had the intended effect of implying the full nature of her relationship with Alexandra with brutal efficiency.

The Maid of Might flinched as she thought of Alex within Lady El's embrace, bonding bracelets glittering as she gave a part of her soul that she would never allow Kara Danvers to see. Yet more that the sweet press of skin and immolating kisses and breathless sighs she remembered a warm hand within her own, unafraid of the power she wielded even as she sat in a room accidentally destroyed by negligent sorrow.

She remembered family dinners and forbidden flights, sister nights and mock fights over pot stickers, she remembered a warrior scholar rappelling down from the heavens to protect her, she remembered the terrifying press of a Boeing beneath her grip, she remembered pleas for her to shake off a dark fantasy…where Alex had no place. With an agitated cry, the last Daughter of Krypton half sped, half dropped into a punching crouch feet away from the usurper.

Far be it for Lady El to be intimidated by the display of power as she leapt backwards, her inhuman strength allowing her to avoid the shockwave created by Earth's Protector. She stared at her counterpart, wholly unimpressed and thinned her lips into a line as she saw Supergirl stand up.

"You used her, manipulated her tie to me for you own gain."

Lady El had never been more insulted and outraged in her life by the accusation, even when her right to the High Chancellor seat had been challenged by a _Zod_ when she was sixteen. This even outstripped her outrage at the challenge placed against her son when she named him her successor.

" _I_ manipulated her? Has your time on Earth reduced you to baseless conjecture and wild accusations? Even if that had of been my goal, Kara Danvers, _you_ had poisoned any goodwill my name would have garnered. Manipulated?...She was _afraid_ of me because of you. I didn't take advantage of your relationship…I _surpassed_ it."

Furious, Supergirl leapt forward, rapidly closing the distance, only to pause midair and reflexively catch a small crystal that was thrown to her.

"Read it."

Confusion snapped the molten hold of rage upon her and the Maid of Might almost unwittingly called up the information within the chit. Data was summoned instantly scrolling forth in the form of a cube. Augmented eyes sped through the Kryptonese realizing they were logs, no they were medical records… but not of a Kryptonian, but rather of a human…Alex.

The damage they detailed was horrific. Tears pricked her eyes as she recognized some of the wounds she had inflicted, some by accident and thanks to RedK…some not. Alex had been torn apart again and again over her short life, all for the sake of protecting Kara…for protecting her sister. The word scraped and screeched as she tried to fit it into the Earth ideal of sisters. On Earth, sisters were close until they weren't… until the quest for a mate or the impersonal distance of time either made them strangers or enemies. On Krypton the bond of family was the strongest one of all and if Rao and the matricomp decreed it such a bond could be born of mates as well. For a world that had been obsessed with castes, and intelligent design, Krypton handled marriage with an efficient passion. No couples below 80 percent on the matricomp were allowed to wed and unlike Earth, bondings were rarely made due to infatuation or sexual desire. Supergirl staggered back, her anger draining away until she reached the beginnings of Alex's legal record upon New Krypton. Listed next to her marriage house had been her matricomp percentage.

98.7 percent.

When Krypton had been destroyed the couple that had the highest percentage on record had been her Uncle Jor-El and his wife Lara Lor-Van of the House of El. Even they had been 95.2 percent. Her own parents had been 93.6. The numbers, seemingly benign were like acid within her veins yet she could only stare in muted shock until her eyes glanced over a number that was out of place, but that she'd ignored simply because she thought she knew its value. When the contradicting number registered in her mind and all the implications therein, Supergirl became something that not even RedK could unearth… she became the Witness once again. Destined to lose everything she held dear with no way to reclaim it.

The crystal tumbled out of slack hands with a quiet thump and the Last Daughter of Krypton let out a sound of such mourning that even Lady El's staid composure faltered to hear it. Supergirl surged forward, griping the cape clasps of Lady El's armor levitated them both several feet into the air. Her eyes were completely bluish white, smoldering with restrained fury, as steam wafted from the corners of her eyes while her face was a twisted mask of rage and endless sorrow.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

Kara Zor-El refused to struggle even as she gripped the unyielding forearms that held her aloft, and she allowed her own anger to truly rise as her irises began to glow with bio luminescence. She spoke clearly as if she were within the Council chambers even though the woman that held her could hear electrons as they orbited the nucleus of an atom.

"I loved her."

With that diplomacy was abandoned and the prowess of the Ze blood began to sing, clamoring for war. Lady El simultaneously wrapped her powerful legs around Supergirl's waist and then slammed her fists into each brachioradialis, forcing the heroine's grip to break in shock, but Lady El hugged her body like a serpent, keeping her grip even as she drew back a fist. Confused, Supergirl didn't react, perhaps expecting the elder Kryptonian to break her hand against Sol laced steel.

Supergirl had lost all true association with pain since coming to Earth. She could withstand punches that could crumble mountains, the hits muted even as they staggered her. Yet as Lady El punched her at point blank range and pain flashed like boiling water across her skin, the surprised superheroine lost her bearings and fell to the ground with her attacker perched above her in tow. Confusion lanced through her even as the pain lingered briefly before the sun still weakly shining down upon them muted the pain. Yet she only had the most minor of reprieves as she watched Lady El raise her fist again, her gauntlet shimmering with angry red.

The Green Lantern of .Jor:Krypton flew as if possessed, an insistent tug of emotional imbalance pulling at her. It was rare that non Star Sapphires/Violet Lanterns could feel the emotional energy of their mates, but Alex had been blessed. Kara Zor-El had always tugged at her soul, that was why she couldn't hold on to her resentment for her sister, but for her bondmate she could sometimes feel Kara's strongest emotions as if they were her own. The flash of sorrow and love had concerned her, but it was the burn of rage…the kind that called to the Red Lanterns that pushed her to take flight.

Something was wrong…she needed to find Kara…perhaps both of them.

Kara Zor-El was a woman of gentleness no matter the world, but there was rage within her. In Kara Danvers it became an albatross, for she couldn't allow herself to feel her anger and pain because Earth wouldn't survive it. For Kara Zor-El of the houses El and Danvers it became a drive, that pushed her to be a better ruler, a better bondmate and a better mother yet it haunted her, seeding doubt where there should only be peace. Yet their rage was not wild and directionless, it was filled with the righteous indignation at a universe that would destroy a world of wonder, and at the cruelty that those that had never known such loss could inflict upon one another.

Her armored fist, laced with red solar emitters smashed satisfyingly into Kara Danvers' face. How she had longed for this moment for _years_. She was an El, by breeding by training and by sovereignty but the blood of Ze rushed though her veins, fierce and hot and overflowing with burning passion. Her Alexandra had endured so much for the sake of this child, and now finally, finally she could offer her bondmate more than reassurances that she was not the same. The right and obligation to protect, to defend and by Rao to _avenge_ thrummed through her; blood for blood a price would be paid this day.

She could not give Alexandra _home_ while this child sought to ruin it with petulance and jealousy and she would not go to Rao's side until she could give her Light this final gift, this truest expression of her devotion and adoration. She poured the entirety of her brilliance and her passion to create the means to return Alexandra to Earth, and even though that had been knocked askew now the only thing that remained was stopping the ungrateful, foolish Kara Danvers from extracting her blood's price.

Kara Danvers was not as clumsy as she expected, but she was no warrior even though the touch of Alexandra could be seen in her movements, the luxury of power made her lax and foolish and fear of hurting human with her overwhelming abilities made her move with caution that Kara Zor-El would not afford her. Kara Danvers had destroyed Alexandra's home, had taken her father's life and twisted her mother's kindness into a blade of expectation; a kryptonite forged for Alexandra's heart alone. The push, nearly to the point of obsession to make a difference…to matter…it broke Kara Zor-El's heart to see it. The burn of failure knowing that a life by her side didn't eradicate that pain, the shame in knowing that the worldkiller in Alexandra's life bore her face…

With a roar Kara Zor-El lunged forward, but Supergirl was ready this time and she locked arms with her counterpart before tossing her aside with enough force to throw her several meters. Lady El was normal, Kryptonian and while she wasn't as fragile as a human, she was still weaker than the Maid of Might by an order of several magnitudes. Just like everything else in this world, Supergirl would have to counter her with a gossamer touch, delicate when she wanted nothing more than to inflict pain.

Kara Zor-El grinned,knowing that even despite her pain Kara Danvers had no instinct to hurt, to destroy to kill. Her throw tossed the noblewoman back, but a well-timed back flip landed her on her feet. But it wasn't kindness that held her back, but instead this world filled to the brim with fragility. Yet perhaps there was another reason for her reticent blows. If Kara Danvers ripped the armor that shielded Kara Zor-El from Sol then another monster would be born this day. Though the idea offended her, for her beloved Alexandra she would become a monster and bring Kara Danvers to her knees.

Supergirl lunged forward, her movements fast for a mortal but slow enough to predict and counter and Lady El ducked her outstretched hands, crowding close and slamming a back fist and forearm into Supergirl's stomach. The Maid of might bowed over with an expulsion of air, throwing her off her center of gravity enough for Lady El to grip her closest arm and flip her to the ground. Keeping her grip on her arm, Kara Zor-El pressed her hand forcefully on top of Supergirl's hand even as she dropped a knee heavily into the small of her back. It would take so very little pressure to break bones so long as her emitters kept contact with her body. The noblewoman dragged the arm against her torso, preparing to break it at the elbow, Supergirl merely levitated and flipped at superspeed, dislodging her and tossing her to the ground.

The Woman of Steel shook her head and rotated her shoulder, twists and aches lancing through her bones and her sinews. This wasn't like Kryptonite, pain that was an insidious poison that drained her and then pushed her under the waves. This was _fire_ , the flames of Rao, visceral and immolating and permanent. The was the kind of pain that gave her the scar above her eyebrow, the kind of pain that shattered bones and called forth blood like a sweet spring. This was the kind of pain that Alex knew. Even gunshot wound, every cut, every bruise, every broken bone… this was pain that Alex endured for Kara Danvers' sake.

Supergirl paused as she thought of sharp gasps, and thrumming heartbeats, winces and blinked away tears. Bruises and casts, as Kara learned how to survive in this fragile world, when Kara grew too excited when she grew too afraid. She remembered screams and burned flesh when she _raged_. A hug from her could put Alex in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Yet Supergirl found her thoughts drifting to that haunting, abhorrent night. Alex clung to Lady El with all her strength, kissing her with demand and need, she arched into an embrace that offered no pain, but instead unspeakable pleasure. She screamed, not in terror, but in joy as she took Lady Kara Zor-El's fingers deep inside…into her body, into her heart, into her very soul. Deeper than she would ever allow Kara Danvers, no matter how much Kara had longed for it locked away within her soul.

The storm clouds seemed to echo her lament as the heavens opened up to douse the two of them in warm rain. Supergirl tilted her head back, feeling the truth wash over her like the rain. She could make amends, she could be the Kara Zor-El that Alex needed, she would make things right and sweep away this imposter. Finally, finally she would be Alex's protector; she wouldn't stand behind her when they should walk through life together. She had been given a second chance; no one would take that from her. She looked down at Lady El, standing steadfast even as the rain fell all around her, the light wind causing her war cape to billow majestically around her. Supergirl frowned at the sight of her…of what she represented.

"I won't let you take away my family!"

Dark azure eyes stared up at her from behind a translucent helmet. They began to glow as resolve filled her, purpose sang within her with warm hazel eyes that shined up like six glittering jewels… a love carefully nurtured had given her everything she'd ever dreamed of…even home. What did this child know of understanding? Did she hold out her hand for Alexandra to take, or did she tug her along at her own pace? Did she not notice if she tripped and fell, did she not see the scars? Kara Zor-El shook her head and glared at her younger counterpart.

"She was never yours to protect."

Supergirl pitched forward, fist out stretched no longer caring about Lady El's suit and the threat it and the woman it encased posed as all she wanted was to remove this intruder from her and Alex's lives. Lady El dove forward and rolled to her feet moving forward just as Supergirl spun and ran towards her. Rather than punching out, she pushed into a kneeling crouch right as Supergirl swung, driving a fist into the side of Supergirl's right knee, causing it to buckle, even as her free hand gripped her cape and tugged sharply down. Supergirl had no choice but to trip fall backwards, her decades of enforced normalcy bleeding precious seconds from her reaction time. That was fine on Earth where her powers granted her a clear advantage, but against the ruler of .Jor:Krypton, who had her warrior skills forged in the fires of civil unrest and survival it was a glaring weakness.

Kara Zor-El straddled her counterpart and smashed her fist into her face once, twice, three times, delighting in the blood spilled even as wounds began to heal under the partially shining sun. She raised her fists, ready to bring down a hammer blow, when a gust of air threw her backwards. Supergirl staggered to her feet, flicking her wet cape behind her and wiping the blood from her nose and mouth. She let out another gust when Lady El tried to rise again, driving the noble onto her back with a whuff of air. Eyes glowed with Rao's vengeance before burning even brighter to blue white fury. She exhaled again, this time the gust was cold, freezing as she used to falling rain to encase her foe's legs in ice.

Lady El struggled, forcing down the panic that wanted to bleed into her mind as Kara Danvers displayed her monstrous powers. Her only regret was that she didn't have a weapon. She didn't bring one in good faith, not wanting to agitate the man that even now Alexandra looked to as a second father. Yet if she couldn't use her body as a weapon, and she possessed neither blade nor blaster, she ran the risk of failing Alexandra and she would _die_ before she let that happen. She stopped pounding her fists against the ice when she felt Supergirl's shadow pass over her.

The clumsy, false human was gone now, even the reluctant goddess seemed to have vanished. Standing over her, drenched from head to toe yet somehow all the more glorious for it, she almost looked worthy of her blood. Almost. Bluish white heat stared at her and she felt no fear, only disgust. She remembers shuddering words, swallowed behind hiccups as the only secret kept between her Ehl:zeht and herself. Words never meant for her ears as Alexandra confessed to Alura and Astra the black night that ended her life as she knew it on Earth. Her mother and aunt had held Alexandra then, and Kara Zor-El who had only been a hesitant friend at the time with longings for more, had crept away and wept until she fell into a dreamless slumber. She vowed on that night that she would do what Kara Danvers could not; she would be what Kara Danvers was not. Never again would Alexandra Danvers cry because of Kara Zor-El. Eyes that would bring death narrowed and Kara Zor-El ran the numbers in her head. She would only get once chance and if Supergirl reacted fast enough…she wouldn't even have that.

Muscles tensed and reacted as laser formed rage erupted, hot and unforgiving ready to destroy everything in its wake.

* * *

Alright back to AC:Sparta for me. I need more fodder for this Kassandra/Daphnae fic(s) that my muse won't leave me alone about.


	11. Chapter 11

The Promises We Keep- 11

By Ryu Niiyama

* * *

We always hurt the ones we love…always.

A focused shield of emerald light deflected the laser beams even as Kara Zor-El rolled out of the way. She was restricted by the ice that still encased her feet and she scrambled to grasp a nearby rock that had blessedly been uncovered by the storm. Frantic as Willful Emerald shone upon her, Lady El smashed the rock against the ice, growling in frustration as it wouldn't give enough. She had to…she had to hurry, lest Emerald fade under vengeful Crimson.

Supergirl seemed confused for a split second as she realized that the wrath she intended to bring didn't result in a smoldering corpse. Yet rage clawed and pulsed through her still, white hot and sharp unlike the haze of RedK. This time she was _right_ , this time it was _justice_ , justice for the theft of her Light. She would make that imposter pay…she would make her _burn_. With a scream, the Last Daughter of Krypton let forth her pain in the form of deadly, focused heat only for it to splash impotently against green once more.

Green.

Green like Kryptonite, her very world turned into a poisonous betrayer. Green like the Girod…Unity that gave rise to El Mayara…Unity that this usurper tried to keep her from knowing again. With a scream that drowned out anything else, she surged forward, abandoning the heat of righteousness. This would be vengeance…and she would carry it out with her own two hands. Fists that could crumble mountains slammed against that horrible green, determined to destroy the shield that kept her from passing righteous judgment. She could hear the green calling to her, trying to calm her, insidious and false just like Kryptonite and Astra and Kal and that woman that wore her face. She would tear apart the lies and find the Light… she would find….

"ALEEEEX!"

"ALEXANDRA!"

Supergirl's scream was a howl, a war cry to stake her claim, but Lady El's was a warning, fear and helpless hysteria taking form before her very eyes. Yet Supergirl didn't care for the shallow thoughts of Lady El, she would not see her world torn apart by a shadow. Her fists pounded again, again and again until her will proved the stronger. Yet as the green faded, crimson and auburn and delicate silver replaced it. The iron tang of human blood …familiar human blood filled her senses, crimson and sickly sweet, while auburn and silver hair fluttered almost serenely as a warrior scholar clad in the emerald light of Will fell to her knees.

Rage drowned in agony at the sight, but before she could move forward, the target of her ire, half limped, half tackled her away, screaming with rage of her own. Yet she didn't stay long enough to resume their contest of will, for a Champion of Will had seen her constructs shattered…her will broken by the distorted clarity of rage. When Kara Danvers rose, she found her sister unconscious within her...bondmate's arms, the ever practical noblewoman summoning her ship and absently she flinched as she heard the name of the ship AI.

Alexandria.

The crown jewel of Alexander the Great, once a seat of human might and brilliance and ingenuity and violence. The home of the Defender, the virtue for which Alex Danvers was so named. Even in this, Kara Zor-El of .Jor:Krypton had claimed Alex as her own. Yet she could not stand by and not act when her Light lay bleeding or possibly worse. Summoning every ounce of the strong altruistic nature of the Maiden of Might, Kara Danvers moved forward and reached out to take her sister into her arms. Blue eyes of dissimilar shades but similar form met briefly, a battle of wills once more playing out between them... and in this moment Kara Danvers learned the truth of the depth of Kara Zor-El's love for Alex Danvers.

She let Supergirl take her beloved, trusting that the power that she detested so much could see her bondmate to safety faster than her ship that had not yet arrived, even though Supergirl could hear the vessel closing in. Kara Zor-El would do anything to see her Light safe and protected…even let her go.

Supergirl was humbled in that moment, but she didn't allow herself to dwell upon it as she pushed up from the muddy earth, flying towards the Desert DEO base. She said nothing as Director Lane led a medical team to relieve her of her precious Light, yet she shrank away from Lucy's piercing gaze. When the vessel Alexandria landed and then cloaked nearly 10 minutes later and Lady El emerged with worried eyes and trembling hands, Director Lane's eyes darted between them once and then she turned and entered the base.

"You two. Come with me. Now."

The two followed with sullen gazes but agitated movements as they were led further into the base. Pausing before the Kryptonian wing, Director Lane keyed the code to two of the cells and ordered each Kryptonian inside. Supergirl docilely walked into to the cell, waiting on the Director to activate the Kryptonite emitters. She frowned as she watched the lead shielding come down after Lane walked inside. The lead would keep her from using her more expansive powers of sight and hearing but so long as she didn't try to break down the lead and encounter the Kryptonte shielding she was perfectly safe.

Well…relatively safe considering that Lane was staring at her like a Lioness ready to pounce.

"You fucking idiot…puppy. I've had to stand by and watch you damn near self-destruct for two years and now you bring me your sister battered and bruised?! Explain. Now."

Lucy Lane was the closest thing outside of Eliza that Kara had for family. She wasn't pretentious like Clark, or invasive and prying like Lois, she didn't project her wants like Winn or see her as someone to be coddled and held against her baby cousin's standard like James. Her heart wasn't quite torn in two like J'onn or Eliza. She knew what it was to lose the most important person to her; Lucy Lane knew what it was to be deemed unworthy.

So Kara Danvers did exactly as the petite human demanded of her. She spoke and rambled and babbled, telling of the return of her Light and how her greatest dream had turned into a nightmare with her face. She spoke of the love, that Earth had told her could never be and deafened her to ever knowing that she could want it, that glowed warm and sweet and right between Kara Zor-El and Alex Danvers.

"Which Kara Zor-El?"

Supergirl paused, not realizing that in her agitation she was pacing two feet off the ground. She gaped confused, not understanding the question, but Lucy pushed and then she prodded and then finally she tore at the wound that Kara Danvers hadn't even realized was hemorrhaging. Why should it matter whom Alex chose for a bondmate? Surely it was not her place to say… Yet why did the one that Alex cleaved her soul to, wear her face, bear her name and speak with her voice? Why did Lady El walk in the brightest of Light while Kara Danvers wandered in darkness? Yet it wasn't enough. Lucy twisted the truth like a knife lancing all the pain, all the regret that festered, scraping through the jealousy and the rage that scabbed over.

"Why her and not me?!"

The question howled out with piteous mourning forced Supergirl to clasp her hands over her mouth as if she had not intended to speak the words aloud. As if she had not dared to think and give them life. If Alex could forgive, why was it another that she offered such salvation? If Alex could love why did she cling to a reflection when Kara Danvers awaited her? Did not Nightwing and Flamebird, children of Rao know each other as true beloveds? If Alex could return why did she wait…why were they… Supergirl's mind tried to recoil from the truth but Lucy would not let her. She ferreted out the truth that embedded itself like a shard of glass, slowly working towards her heart. Yet the truth that she uncovered was more than even she had expected. Medical records and civic records illuminated a life lived far from Kara Danvers' side, in a world that she could not reach.

Twenty years.

It was as if Alex had somehow been forced to mirror Kara in reverse. Lucy stood dumbstruck as Supergirl explained what happened. The horrific attack and explosion that should have and most certainly would have killed Director Alex Danvers happened at the precise moment that Lady Kara Zor-El was testing a hyperspace tunneling experiment. Perhaps it was pure happenstance or providence from Rao, but the bridge that Kara Zor-El created connected their two universes at the explosion epicenter.

Opening mere pico seconds before Alex's body was torn away in heat and kinetic energy, the explosion was instead accidentally directed into the already unstable tunnel. Alex and part of the terrain around her had been thrown into Kara Zor-El's lab, body mangled and bleeding out while the resulting excess energy caused the bridge to collapse and Kara's equipment to explode. Containment fields kept the explosion, a mere shock wave of the energy she'd inadvertently harnessed, from destroying the lab or killing the two occupants. Immediately Lady El rushed the injured alien to the healers, terrified that she had apparently and quite violently ripped some hapless human from her primitive daily life.

The human lay in a coma for two months as her body was healed from damage, some old, some new but all of it debilitating.

Yet there had been an unforeseen side effect to the amplification and displacement of so much energy. The universe that Lady El lived in was displaced in temporal resonance with the rest of the universes connected to it. No longer in sync, its time moved faster than those around it, leaving Kara Danvers to mourn for her sister for two years, while in fact she lived twenty by Lady Kara Zor-El's side.

Yet despite the relief that Alex had survived, thrived even, among Kara's people couldn't displace the despair and fury that gnashed and ripped into her soul with crimson claws. The night she witnessed had been one of countless others, a decade and a half of familiarity lending comfort and caring and passion and understanding between Alex and the female that bore her face. The distance between Lady El and Commander Danvers was not an indicator of unfamiliarity but instead professionalism and caution. This was not a relationship that had been born of confusion of identity or for political gain. Kara Zor-El had served her people, unmated for decades, well past the normal bonding years, more focused on stabilizing her home than maintaining ancient customs. Alex had been discarded by her sister but in that loss she gained a bondmate and a friend that wouldn't twist family bonds like a knife in the gut.

Kara Zor-El had loved Alex Danvers longer that Kara Danvers had.

The thought struck the Last Daughter of Krypton like a hammer to the throat and she struggled not to cry out, not to drown in rage and despair and need. Her thoughts wild and frantic, for a moment she contemplated spiriting Alex away from the one that had bewitched and stolen her and prove to her that she was the Kara Zor-El that Alex could trust and love and protect.

Yet what could she offer? A broken a twisted sisterhood, tainted with her desires and anger? A small home in Midvale merely used to rest as she kept vigilance over Eliza? Home. She, who would give almost anything to feel Rao's touch upon her face again, she knew what it was to long for home.

Yet home offered empty bonds, promises spurned and love twisted against her only to bloom for another. Te:zehdh had become barren and yet the fault had been her own. She had cast Alex aside, and when her beloved Light had needed her most she'd abandoned her. Her latest transgression did her no favors. In her need to erase the one that had hidden her Light from her she'd only served to hurt Alex again. It was no easy feat to shatter a construct of a Lantern, and had this been any other Lantern, Kara would have allowed herself to be proud. To crash upon Will and see it crumble was debilitating if not outright devastating to a Green Lantern. It was said that they possessed the greatest challenge to claim the power that they seemed to wield effortlessly. If another tried to wear a Lantern ring of Will it would take everything they had to even move or breathe, let alone to even summon the powers that the Ring bestowed. It took a will that could move mountains, a will that could make the impossible, possible.

Kara knew that Alex Danvers was more than worthy.

Yet Will could be swept away by rage, it could burn and break and shatter under fury unending. Fury had stolen Kara Danvers' sanity so long ago and now once again it returned to lay waste to the hearth of her soul.

"So? What will you do about it?"

Supergirl frowned in confusion, mildly upset that Lucy Lane's compassion was as visceral and violent as her logic. She would not let Kara mourn, not when she could act and this time she would do what the others had failed to do, she would force Kara Zor-El, First of her Name and Last of her Line to confront the fear and the longing that tore away trust. She would make her take responsibility for her actions no matter the outcome. Yet Kara Danvers was no coward and Lucy Lane could see that warm Light that drew other in return to light azure eyes. She didn't know what fate Alex would bestow upon her little sister, but she would be damned if Supergirl wouldn't face it with honor and humility.

Satisfied with what she saw in the heroine's eyes, Director Lane rose and left the cell, promising to let her know when Alex awoke.

She went to the command center and pulled up a live feed on the alien Kara Zor-El. Still clad in armor, the woman was kneeling in the center of her cell in a seiza position. Aside from the lock and the red solar emitters that pumped the steady wavelength of Rao over her form, there was nothing keeping the Kryptonian noble incarcerated. A thin eyebrow arched as she took in the trembling of Lady El's shoulders and even though she was loathe to admit it, she could feel admiration warm her heart at the sight. Her father had treated his family at arms length, believing that cold, indifferent strength would be a pillar, when his wife and daughters had needed his warmth as well.

Kara Zor-El was devastated.

She was a warrior, yet she didn't hold back the tears that made her mighty frame tremble. She didn't view her concern and love as a weakness. She didn't seek to shield herself from the world. In this, Lucy Lane acknowledged that the older Kryptonian was truly as much Kara Zor-El as the younger Kryptonian a cell over. The same love that carried a plane to safety with no regard for her own burned within the noblewoman that battled a being that would be a goddess in fair combat. The two Daughters of El had not been as unobserved as they thought. It had only taken a few moments to pull up satellite and drone footage of the battle they had waged upon desert sands. Lucy paused as she considered the implications.

Both Kryptonians found the sun of their lives within one woman and the decisions that she would make could destroy them both. Yet was there even a decision to be made? Alex had protected her…wife from her sister…Lucy knew what it felt like to be abandoned by a beloved sister. Lucy pushed herself to run from that pain, but what would Sunshine Danvers do? Yet she couldn't find anger for Alex; not when she risked her life for years for her sister, not when she obeyed her command to leave…not when she lay in an abandoned building, alone and waiting to die… her last wishes only for the happiness of her sister. Yet Lucy still held some of the pragmatic views of her father. If Kara Zor-El, both of them, clashed to win Alex Danvers, what would become of the world caught in between? They had all seen what happened when Krypton's children warred for something to have as their own.

Death. Destruction. Pain, on all sides.

"What a mess. Lyons, get Director Vasquez on the conn in my office."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Lucy walked into her office and collapsed into her chair, reaching out to activate her conn. She smiled when she heard the smooth tones of Vasquez's voice.

"Hey, reina, what's up?"

Lucy leaned her head back, letting that warm concern soothe her soul. Things would be alright, they had to be. She'd even call in her sister and Big Blue if it meant fixing this mess. Elsewhere unbeknown to her, the universe conspired to test her declaration.

It was easier than expected. The Martian was consumed with restoring his patchwork family so he focused on those he thought would take it away once again. Yet his shrewd, assessing nature had been blunted by familiarity. In a face that he recognized and deemed to be harmless, and thus he allowed the team lead by a familiar face to retrieve the healing chamber. He would return it to Argo Zhiutidh:Rurrelahs as intended, although none would notice the Lantern Battery that would go missing.

He held it close and watch the emerald glow brighten to Shining Yellow.

Soon it would be his turn to shine.

* * *

Zhiutidh:Rurrelahs (literally means Galaxy Dwelling. I'm transliterating it to mean Ark)

I'm not done. RL has been hectic as of late. Thank you for reading so far.


	12. Chapter 12

The Promises we Keep – 12

By: Ryu Niiyama

* * *

One must be willing to give everything to protect home and hearth…everything.

Earth was such a primitive planet. Its people squabbled and bickered over the smallest things, even as an embarrassment of rich resources overflowed from the land and sea. Yet there was a beauty in their simple, flawed ways. They could be fierce and impetuous, traits that were boons when indecision and over-analysis stood in the way of true action. They could be capable of calm and poise, but they required much refinement to reach such a state.

Dark eyes looked upon the blue and green world, the colors garish and sharp to her gaze, yet she respected this world. For from this barbaric rock her niece's touchstone had been born, her Alexandra Dan-Vers. Alexandra Dan-Vers had not been the type that she would have expected to have won Kara so thoroughly, she had a scientist and warrior breeding true, but she had been so…broken when she arrived upon .Jor:Krypton.

Literally and figuratively.

Astra's mentoring of Alexandra had not been altruistic. Upon waking, Alexandra took one good look at Kara and burst into hysterical tears. The healers had to sedate the human and rush a confused and now half traumatized Kara from the room. Astra had wanted to know why. What secrets did this human hold? Why was she able to understand the Kryptonese spoken around her and why did she absently hum Kara's favorite lullaby when the medication removed her inhibitions? Astra had sworn her very blood to safeguard Alura and all that she held dear and to keep the daughter of her heart safe from those that would see her harmed.

Kara had done what even Alura could not; she'd kept the Kryptonian people alive and somehow managed to hold them together when infighting and flagging resources would have seen them self-destruct in far less glorious a fashion than their lost home. She'd taken Astra's sword and reforged it into a shield and kept the unity of their people. Yet the price and the toll had been great. Jor-El and Lara had survived long enough to see the culmination of the Arc Project, but a successful attempt on their lives by Brainiac 8, or as she liked to call herself Indigo, saw to the demise of Non, Jor-El, Lara Lor-Van and about a third of House Zod. Not to mention the fact that the Arc Project had not been designed for long term implementation. Although only just barely ascended at the age of 14, Kara Zor-El brought honor to her blood. She helped quell the civil unrest that arose in the wake of the High Chancellor's death and she completed his work, thus saving the last of Rao's children. Astra knew of the shame that Kara bore for her deeds but she felt nothing but pride for her beloved niece.

Astra could not allow Kara's work to be destroyed by an unknown human, she could not allow Alura to be placed in danger by this creature. For a little under 2 lorakh the human lay in a healing chamber, beyond Astra's grasp and yet unable to cause harm. When she woke Astra was the first to demand the right to question her. The relief and guilt that lit the human's face was almost as jarring as the easy recognition she showed. Ignoring the shock of silver that wasn't easily seen with Astra's combat helmet on, the human recognized her and called her by name before she could introduce herself. The action had raised Astra's hackles and she all but interrogated the human, who to her infinite annoyance wasn't intimidated by her in the slightest. Yet Alexandra Dan-Vers had still been as forthcoming as she knew how.

With a sadness that Astra could only echo as a woman who'd lost both bondmate and planet as well as a quarter of her species, Alexandra spoke of loss known more intimately than a lover. Loss of zrhythrevium, loss of purpose, loss of home, and throughout it all there was such guilt. She deemed her loss a fate of her own design and endured her pain as penance; such pain that broke and splintered her spirit and yet somehow made it more resplendent in its fragility. Astra would have deemed the human weak, yet she could not when Alexandra Dan-Vers had risked all that she was, all that she would be to keep Kara Zor-El safe.

Yet it was difficult for the High General to understand Alexandra's reactions. She shared no blood with the Kara Zor-El of her world, yet she grieved and longed for her despite being cast out. It wasn't until she saw the human interact with her own niece that she understood why. The brave human didn't react to Kara Zor-El the way that Zor and Jor reacted to one another, even though they had a common sibling relationship. Despite her niece's obvious, to her at least, infatuation and preoccupation with the human, Alexandra didn't react to her the way Astra had with Non or Alura with Zor. Instead there was a deeper trust, a folding of their spirits that meant that even in this confusing universe, Alexandra Dan-Vers whole being cleaved to the need to support and care for Kara Zor-El. This was a bond stronger than blood, stronger than mating and one that Astra knew intimately; this was what she shared with Alura, this was Te:zedh.

At first Astra feared that a one-sided bond, one built on Te:zedh and one built upon mating would exist between them, and the differences in what they wanted and needed from one another would eventually destroy them both. Astra smiled softly, she should not have doubted Kara for a single thrib. Kara, observant, giving, gentle Kara had not pushed Alexandra, yet she refused to be neutral in her human's recovery and acclimation, presenting herself as a friend, yet refusing to allow Alexandra to treat her as a replacement for the Kara Zor-El that she'd lost. Their bond grew, easy friendship and respect blooming even as they challenged each other. The difference in their ages mattered not, for they spoke in the languages of mathematics and physics, in strategy and honor; pursuits that defined them as strong and wise and made them both worthy leaders. Kara had distanced herself from all else save the call of duty, forgoing taking a bondmate, merely to ensure that Jor's whelp would have a place on .Jor:Krypton. She stood alone, to serve as a beacon for .Jor:Krypton to rally behind, yet Astra feared for her niece.

Not even Rao stood alone.

Yet for the first time Kara's eyes looked eagerly to every entrance, hoping that Alexandra would walk through. She tried to keep her heart subdued, mindful of her age and status, but even with all that .Jor:Krypton demanded of her, she could not quell the excitement that lilted her tone when she spoke to Alexandra, or the pain when Alexandra looked at her and saw a sister rather than a friend. She could not stifle the confused jealousy when Alexandra's recovering form drew interested gazes or when her mind sparked eager conversation and debate with others. Alura had been nervous when Alexandra entered into a tryst with a third cousin of Thara Ak-Var (Thara turned positively red when she found out.) and Astra had been simply ready to quietly murder the young human for her obliviousness. Talena Urk-Var was a good woman, and an honorable if unremarkable soldier, her comparable age to Alexandra had Kara for the first time wondering about her appearance, as if she'd forgotten that Kryptonians lived longer and had a more stabilized aging process than humans did. Kara thought herself hidden but Astra had found queries to Kalax to ascertain standards of human female beauty within Alexandra's city state of America. Yet Kara's stubbornness saved her very heart for she learned quickly that the mind was the quickest way to entice Alexandra Dan-Vers and she pushed to have the human instated as her apprentice while her education was fortified with Kryptonian knowledge.

Astra had come upon them lying on their backs upon the observation deck of Kara's lab, testing the atmospheric shielding, but also trading stories of the stars. Hearing the warm contentment in both of their voices appeased the High General and she wasn't surprised to find in time that the flashpoint passion between Alexandra and Talena had cooled significantly as Alexandra submerged herself in her work…and learning of this Kara that was so familiar in some ways and different in others. The human fell in love so easily, so naturally that she didn't realize it until too late to change, even though she tried mightily. The distance the human tried to impose wounded Kara deeply, although like her mother, she kept her true feelings hidden for as long as possible. Astra would not see her niece and in turn Alura hurt because the human was either a noble idiot or a coward.

"I thought you braver than this." Astra entered the training room, watching the little human struggle to move in her braces, hoping to make her body useful once again. The higher gravity of .Jor:Krypton made movement debilitating for the frail human, although the head of House Ze could see the muscle that was beginning to further fill out Alexandra's form. The exasperated grimace that marred the alien's face would have been amusing under other circumstances, but today, Astra held no humor or pity for the human woman.

"Astra. I really don't wanna do this today."

"Well that is unfortunate little human, as my niece is hurting because of you. Why do you draw close to her and pull back? I have seen the way that you care for her, the way that you look her. I know that you love her."

The human paused, considering her response, but at least she had not denied Astra's words…for if she had Astra would have killed her immediately. "…She looks like my sister, Astra."

"Your point? Alura shares my face but I don't fear finding Zor in my bedchambers. Unless it is your _sister_ that you desire in her place…"

The offense and disgust that so twisted the human's face at such an implication soothed some of Astra trepidation.

"What?! No! How could – What are you-! She's family!"

It took a moment for Astra to translate the human word in her head and she smiled briefly at the thought. Alexandra Dan-Vers had spoken of her past with brevity, but she at least knew the fate of her niece in that world. At least there Kara had a protector and an ie to care for her. Yet that love for a sister was hurting _her_ niece, and Astra In-Ze would not allow that. She knew that the human would try to fortify her reasoning for rejecting Kara and Kara was too gentle to force the issue. Alura wasn't entirely approving of the human, but Astra knew she'd come around. For anyone that could make Kara, who had been accused of being more stern than her mother at times smile brighter than Rao would be someone that Alura would accept. If the stubborn human would only allow herself the right to love freely, Kara would meet that love with equal fervor. Humans made way too much fanfare and taboo over something as simple as mating. It was a wonder that they proliferated like vermin considering their obsessions with trying to control whom someone could bond with, especially with no caste or way to know the compatibility of the pairing as Kryptonians possessed.

So it fell to Astra.

Astra pulled two crystal staves from her belt, activating one and throwing it to the human, barely giving her enough time to grasp it before Astra was upon her, bring her own stave down with controlled strength but full intent. She smiled as Alexandra directed her attack down, holding her stave in an asymmetrical grip and drawing her body back as quickly as her braces would allow. The human grit her teeth taking deep but controlled breaths, compensating for the harsh environment. She made economical movements, never using more effort than required to perform a parry, but she remained on the defensive. The human was observant but too hesitant, too controlled… she was like ice, when Kara needed her fire. Astra began making deliberate attacks at her braces and the human parried well, but it was obvious that she was used to warriors much larger in size and mass than herself, for she had trouble adjusting to Astra's speed. The human's rote defense and sterile fighting spirit offended Astra's warrior breeding and she rallied her anger to bring the human low.

Astra struck decisively, shattering one of the human's braces and causing a mangled piece of the framework to lodge itself in her thigh. Yet the human remained upright, shifting her weight even as blood began to stain her garments. Yet it wasn't enough and Astra demanded more as she increased the speed and strength of her attacks further still.

"Is this all you are? Is this the creature that my niece has risked so much to rescue and protect?! So weak and cowardly?!"

Astra knew the words would strike the shrapnel embedded in the hesitant human's heart. The festering feelings of inadequacy and failure and the guilt that Astra hadn't quite pinpointed the source of that kept the human to the shadows no matter how much Kara tried to draw her in. Astra leapt over a halfhearted sweep, annoyance rising swift within her. How was this pup a warrior among her people when her eyes were so devoid of life in battle and so empty of Purpose?

"You would only bring ruin to Kara, so long as she stands by your side she will suffer-" Astra barely had time to react as the roar of outrage and pain that clawed its way from the human's throat was the only warning she was given before she was struck, full force across the jaw. The human let out a whimper of shock and dropped her staff, the crystal becoming inert and palm-sized once again. Yet she could not speak as she fell to her knees clutching the shoulder that she'd just dislocated. Astra remained standing but only just barely, and mildly the Kryptonian was grateful for the differences in constitution between their species as well as the weakness moving in higher gravity imposed upon the human. Yet that fire was what she wanted, what she demanded of Alexandra Dan-Vers. Swiftly, she moved to the human and grasped her arm and shoulder.

"So there is some fire in you, although apparently it is reckless fire. No matter, that can be honed. How is it that your species counts?"

Alexandra grit her teeth in pain, but she responded nonetheless. "I speak… in English so for me… it would be One, Two- ARGH GODDAMNIT!" Astra smirked at the profane exclamation to her arm and shoulder being reset. Yet she half hauled the human closer, pulling them until their noses nearly met. Alexandra met her gaze briefly before looking away and Astra's eyes narrowed.

"So tell me human, why are you afraid of hurting me?"

The human gasped and Astra, who was less reserved than beloved Alura, allowed herself a moment to gloat and she smiled smugly in response to the glower that washed over Alexandra's face. Yet she nearly half dropped the human at the broken sobs that began to lurch from Alexandra's form. Not knowing what to do with a weeping human, Astra summoned Alura, hoping that her sister could ease the human's distress. Alura arrived within minutes and only hesitating for a moment, she touched Astra's shoulder before drawing Alexandra into her arms and shushing her gently.

Astra had to commend the human, for it was obvious that she hadn't want to divulge her secrets but the warmth of Alura's embrace and Astra's welcoming regard and the words tumbled freely from trembling lips. Sobs and hiccups interspersed in the words but Alexandra finally told the truth of her life, the mantle of protector that she took up for her sister's sake, the partnership they forged as Kara used her godlike power to protect the fragile humans, the poison that unearthed and twisted Kara's worst thoughts, the dark illusion that broke her heart and finally the battle that tore them apart. Astra felt some semblance of pride for the human that had proven herself to be a daughter of her heart as Kara was; the choice to end the life of an Astra that was bent on destroying their lives as they knew it was the only one that could have been made. Astra knew it and she told the human so, had she attempted to incapacitate or maim Astra, she would have been killed for her kindness. It only hurt that Kara had clung to a memory with such fervor that she ignored what Astra had become.

The thought of existing in a universe where Alura was no more, a universe were Kara was her enemy…madness would have been her only fate. Obsession with completing the mandate that had cost her the right to enter into Rao's light by Alura and Kara's side would have been all that she would have had left. She would have been a tyrant in such a world, her loss eroding the good intentions of her work. Alexandra had done her a kindness, and Astra had no doubt that her counterpart knew this.

"There is no reason for these tears Alexandra Dan-Vers. You have done what I would have asked of you in any universe. Whatever that Astra and that Kara have done to you? They are far beyond this realm. My niece has reached out to you in friendship and if you would have her she would give you her heart as well. I will not see her heart broken because you insist in half living in a world you will never see again." She implored Alexandra Dan-Vers to free herself of her self-imposed burden. Such guilt and pain that could only fester until it consumed her. Astra would not see Alexandra fall to the darkness, not when Kara longed to walk with her in the light.

The memory came unbidden to the matron of House Ze and she cast a prayer to Rao for her two nieces. Astra sighed in belonging when she felt a warm hand press against her back and she felt her soul grow content at the touch. Alura, the focus to her flame, the serenity to her chaos; yet she could feel the concern radiating from her beloved sister's form. Astra reached out and drew Alura close, pressing a warm kiss to her temple, smiling at the giggle that she never failed to pull from her younger twin. She knew that Alura was worried about her daughters but Astra trusted that Kara would see Alexandra home.

Yet there was a pall that had fallen over her niece the moment she received the information that Alexandra had taken up the hunt. Her niece was planning something…drastic. She could only pray to lost Rao that Alexandra's indomitable will would prevail in guiding Kara through the dark. For now she would comfort her sister's worried heart and draw comfort from her in return. The two sat together, looking at Earth as it hung in the backdrop of the vastness of space and Astra nearly drifted off when a chime sounded and quick moving footsteps entered her chambers. She knew that gait and she nodded as General Var came into view. The blonde woman bowed in reverence, her motions agitated and urgent.

"High Admiral Ze, Chancellor El…. We have a problem, benevolent ones. We have found transmissions to Lord Nor-Zar, from Commander Danvers. The theft may... have been staged."

* * *

zrhythrevium = family

3/2019

R. Niiyama


	13. Chapter 13

The Promises we Keep-13

By: Ryu Niiyama

* * *

Alex Danvers needed a drink, and perhaps a vacation on a remote tropical planet somewhere.

Peridot eyes snapped open and the Green Lantern of .Jor:Krypton sat up gingerly and looked around. She grimaced in annoyance when she realized she was in a hospital bed…again. This was getting excessive even for her. Grumbling under her breath, the Lantern set about removing the diodes from her arms and temple that were connected to the monitoring machines.

Long ago she'd made a promise in her heart to live life rather than fling herself headfirst into danger. She'd made the promise once when she'd found a treasure of her own to protect and covet; two glittering sapphires that had seen so much pain and endured and burned with hope and promise. She swore that oath again when matching sets of burnished amber were pressed into her arms, and she pressed her lips against dark russet crowns. She fought to protect, but more importantly she fought to live, so that her treasures would be hers to admire and exalt until the will to live finally faded from her form.

The Lantern flexed her hands and called forth her power, she felt a flicker, alien and false, yet the ring still sang in chorus with her will and she summoned her uniform. With a soft grunt Commander Danvers of the House of El pushed off the bed and moved to her feet. She wasn't surprised to find a guest in her room, but her eyes widened as she realized who it was.

Commander Susan Vasquez nodded and her polite mien cracked and then shattered as she grinned jubilantly at her Director and friend returned from the dead. She supposed it was the distorted perception of time passed, but Susan looked so _young_ , and it warmed Alex's heart to see her friend doing well.

Susan was Alex's kind of woman; she was to the point but unashamedly polite while doing so, never mistaking brashness and rudeness for honesty. Even better she was never one to fill a silence, which Alex whose mind was never still, often running countless scenarios and experiments in her head, appreciated. Yet that also meant that she knew when Vasquez had something to say, something that could not wait, and as she looked at the young woman she knew that now was such a time. So she sat back down on the hospital bed and nodded her head for the officer to begin.

Susan was quiet and rarely agitated, but part of the reason that they bonded was their desperate adoration for their sisters. Vasquez's younger sister Marisol Piper actually worked at the Tower DEO base, although the two were actually only half siblings who found each other later as adults. Yet Alex could understand what it was to all of a sudden have this part of you that you didn't know you were missing just…appear and once you accepted it, everything made sense. So she listened to Vasquez vent and fawn over her sister during their weekly games of chess or shogi and once Kara became a liaison for the DEO and Vasquez admitted that she recognized Sunshine Danvers even in the mantle of Supergirl, Alex finally had an outlet to do the same.

So she knew what this would be about before Vasquez even opened her mouth, but she felt that she owed her friend at least the courtesy of at least giving her an audience. Vasquez came to the defense of Kara Danvers with a passion that she didn't expect to hear from her normally somewhat staid friend. She spoke of a heroine that protected a populace that she was no longer a part of, her heart shattered and distant. She implored Alex to forgive the young Kryptonian that seemed shrouded by a pall of loneliness even as she clung to habit like a lifeline. Kara Danvers had been spotted in Chicago every Thursday, buying Alex's favorite meal from the food truck that Alex had discovered Freshman summer of college.

…Even though she didn't actually like the taste of the hot peppers that Alex used to order liberally.

She lamented the sister that clung to the grave of Alex Danvers even as rain pelted her unfeeling skin, hiding the tears but not the broken sobs that wracked her godlike frame. She gave reverence to the painful, mourning wail that rose up on Alex's birthday, the anniversary of her death and Earth Birthday, shaking the very arctic snow caps as Supergirl vented her grief and remorse the only way she knew how. She spoke of the heroine that had consumed the woman, Supergirl becoming the only face that Kara Danvers could bear to wear, a lifetime of endless service, only broken by sleep and vigilance over Eliza Danvers. A fitting penance for what she had thrown away in fury and grief.

Alex nodded, hearing but not quite understanding, trying to knit together the sister that cast her out with hatred in her eyes, to the mournful wreck that Vasquez had described, to the somewhat hesitant heroine that she'd first encountered, to the familiar, unrelenting rage of the vengeful goddess that would see Alex and all she loved dead to pay a blood's price.

No. Vasquez was wrong. Her sister's heart may have mourned because she was the type of woman that would still honor her enemies, but Kara was the last of the House of El and she declared Alex to be vrazhium. She had made the condemnation of her own will, her mind free of the poison of RedK. Her word was law, her will was law, and more than ever Alexandra Danvers of the House of El knew what it was to honor the word of the scion of El. In a world where a Kryptonian had to live as a human and a human that now knew what it was to live as a Kryptonian, Alex would honor her sister's right to lead the House of El and honor her decree.

Besides, unlike Vasquez, Alex had seen her sister's truest dreams come to life. A world where Kara Danvers could be Kara Zor-El, a world where she had the love and trust of her parents and her cousin…a world where she had no sister. That was joy of her heart, a world so seductive that it nearly took both of their lives…a wish that Alexandra Elizabeth Danvers of the House of El was terrified to one day see reflected in the eyes of her bondmate. She exhaled, dispelling the demons that she kept at bay in her heart and she met Vasquez's passionate tirade with compelling, straightforward logic. Yet Vasquez wouldn't be stymied.

"You weren't _there_ D. You didn't see her when she lost you…she…damn, that scream alone gave me nightmares for weeks. I know she said she wanted you gone, but she didn't want… _that_ …I don't care what she said baked out of her mind on RedK."

Commander Danvers tried again to refute the passionate response, her heart buoyed by the thought that her sister had a staunch protector even though she knew Vasquez's certainty in Alex's redemption was misplaced. Vasquez turned red with anger, frustrated that her words fell upon deaf ears, and she jumped up, knocking over her chair.

"Pardon me ma'am but…so the fuck what?! You have killed for her, you spearheaded and jumped the scientific and medical community ahead a few lightyears for her, you stepped up when she needed you because that's what family does. Do you think she cares now that you don't meet some Kryptonian definition for a sister? I can assure you she doesn't."

Commander Danvers sighed, finally exasperated that this child, no matter how well-meaning, was trying to lecture her about her family. Vasquez was an outsider, she didn't know, she didn't understand what it took to _break_ them. Years of minor nerve damage that ruined early dreams of being a surgeon because she could hold a gun but she couldn't hold a scalpel steady enough in her dominate hand and it wasn't accurate enough in her passive hand. Bloodied knuckles and bruises for tackling the star quarterback at the knees and punching him in the face after he threw her sister's bookbag in the school pool.

...Years of hugs, even when she could hear a six chambered heart working triple time because Kara would rather comfort Alex than acknowledge her fear of the crackling sound of fireworks, that sounded too close the cracking and quaking of her planet. Gifts of pristine feathers, because creatures that didn't exist at all on Krypton seemed as precious as diamonds to the newest member of House Danvers.

Vasquez didn't know what it took to take such a bond and turn it to dust. She didn't know what the weight of a Blood's Price felt like.

"She tried to kill my zrhymin…my spouse, V. Blood's price to get to me."

The Lantern paled briefly at the thought of what she could have failed to prevent. She knew loss...she knew what it felt like to see a smiling face that could only live on in dreams with not even a body to mourn. She'd delivered condolences to fallen teammates and watched other's cling to life only to have it snatched away from them. She watched the banshee that haunted her mother's soul as she covered her pain with worry and expectation. Alex didn't have Eliza Danvers' strength. To lose Kara...she would never know the light again. She would live but her beloved treasures would grow tarnished and cracked under the weight of her devastation. Still, the fact that she could feel the muted thrum of Kara's emotions, let her know that at least in this, she had not failed. That knowledge allowed her to listen to Vasquez's fruitless petition with a steady heart.

Vasquez looked dismayed, an expression that Alex had never seen on her face. The Commander wanted to chuckle but she held her mirth, aware that her friend was serious.

"Your _spouse_ …who looks like your _sister_ …can you blame her for being a bit confused? Look, I don't know the backstory for this and you are going to tell me over a game of chess... but I'm pretty certain that whatever started that rumble, had nothing to do with your separation and everything to do with there being another _Kara_ taking her place. Talk to her…please Danvers, she has never needed you more than she does right now."

Vasquez righted the chair and before Alex could protest, exited the room. With a groan, the Lantern leaned over and put her face in her hands, shaking her head at the loss of order in her life. If she found Nor-Zar she was going to drag him to the sentencing chamber by the scruff of his neck. By Rao, when all this was said and done she was going to take the House of El to a tropical island and enjoy some downtime... she was getting too old for this. Too old for the idealism needed to combat the cruelty of universes that would see peace and love undone when all she wanted was to keep her family safe and close unto old age and death claimed her.

"Shisir:ju…"

She never wanted this.

She never wanted to place uncertainty in her sister's heart, and the warmth of knowing that she'd no longer shackle her little sister was almost enough to stave of the chill of knowing that her little sister wished her dead. Yet the rejection of her sister had been _fair_ , Alex had always believed this, even as she made her peace and awaited the agony of her shattered leg and her shattered life to end in a blaze of fire and heat. Yet her sister's heart was too large and too benevolent to accept fair, Alex knew this as well.

For her sister, who felt too much, who loved to the point of rage and frustration, Kara who forgave everyone but herself. Kara who forgave the parents that gave her the emptiness of space and an alien world and a child to raise as her own when she too was still a child. Kara who forgave that same child for abandoning her to strangers for making her a secret that no one knew of until she accidentally blurted it out to Cat Grant.

Clark Kent had no cousin and neither did Superman until that day. Yet she loved him…idolized him even though it was her place to guide him. Better to have family in some form than not at all. Kara even forgave the Danvers that tried to make her something that she was not, draping her in their Earth name and Earth cultures, taking even her right to choose what they meant to her. Perhaps if they had just deemed her Kara Kent things would have been different. Yet that would mean that Alex would have lost the sister she would gladly give her life for…and in her own selfish way she ached at the thought of that as well. She lost her father and in many ways her mother to forge a bond stronger than blood…she would not spit upon his sacrifice or her pain and wish it broken. No matter how Kara who lay torn between time, Kara who bore smiles in honor of the dead even though she didn't see her mother's image again until she was an adult, may have wished it.

Her sister had once told her that they were not family, and for a woman born of a culture that revered family within their very bones that had been their breaking point. There was a reason one of the terms used for a traitor was the same as one used for one that had been stripped of their house. What more could she give? For that matter could she bear the price to give even more to offer succor to her sister?

No, not this time…for the price was too high.

She thought of the look on Supergirl's face right before she let her rage pour forth from her eyes in twin streams of deadly heat. She thought of her Dawn, half trapped in ice, staring down death in stern defiance. For the first time it was not Kara and Kara that she saw, but instead a goddess that would have killed her beloved bondmate for a crime that she didn't commit. She had moved without thought, ready as always to defend the ones she loved. She had been willing to abandon her oath then, she'd sworn to live for her Dawn but not if it meant seeing Kara's gentle light snuffed out in her place.

Without the Dawn, there is no tomorrow.

Rage and pain had hammered at her Will and her heart broke for her sister, but Alex Danvers would not falter until there was nothing left of her. She would stand against any and all that would harm the woman she loved, even if it cost her life in the process. She remembered feeling the resonance between them both right before her shield was overcome, the love that Kara felt, the pain the Kara felt, the terror that Kara felt, the anger that Kara felt...

The Commander let out a shaky exhalation and she swallowed what felt like her heart back into its proper place. It didn't matter what happened in that harrowing moment, what mattered was Kara. When she looked up, Lucy Lane was staring back at her, her face oddly devoid of expression. With what looked like supreme effort, Director Lane merely offered to escort her to the cells that held her family members. Alex rose and retrieved her hair tie from the nearby bedside table, using her powers to weave it and her long locks into a sturdy braid. Lane's eyebrow flickered upwards at the casual display of power, but otherwise she said nothing. The cutting from Kara's unity robes always grounded her, reminding her of the joy and wonder her bondmate brought to her. She knew that she would need that comfort soon enough, but first there were more important matters to attend to.

They traveled through the halls until they reached the Kryptonian wing and Lucy Lane pointed out which cell held which Kara Zor-El. She squeaked briefly and then glared as she watched Alex move towards one of the doors, but she didn't hesitate as she keyed in the entry code.

"Glad to have you back Agent Danvers, Henshaw's request of course." That last little needle was worth a chuckle all the way back to her office even as Alex sputtered in response.

Elsewhere, sallow yellow glowed bright with the fear that had boiled in a resentful heart. No longer would the terror of abandonment, the fear of inadequacy, or the horrified realization that Purpose had been stolen away be a debilitating albatross. For now it would be a sword, bright and gleaming that would destroy all that would hinder Purpose. A place would be found, just for him and a new, bountiful world made his where he would take the place that Jor:Krypton had denied him.

He smiled in the glow of Fear and for the first time in his life his terror made him strong. With that strength, he would prove that only he was worthy. He would purify the weak with the purity of fear. He would lead Jor:Krypton and Earth to bright, Yellow future….

Or he would crush them beneath his feet.

* * *

Agent Piper from chapter six is Vasquez's half-sister (why yes, I put a Marvel reference in a DC fic. Sacrilege I know, but I hope I get a pass for this one).

Alex uses the sex neutral version of spouse in this chapter because she would only use zrhemin/wife to Kara directly.

Shisir:ju: Damn [it] all


	14. Chapter 14

The Promises we Keep

Chapter 14

By Ryu Niiyama

* * *

Even within darkness there is beauty in the stars.

Supergirl's blonde head snapped up when the door opened and her guest walked in. She gasped and surged to her feet, resisting the urge to pick imaginary lint from her suit or to nervously adjust glasses that weren't there. She let her vision strip away the barrier of clothing, searching the newecommer's body for wounds and she was relieved to find none. Yet she couldn't hold back the sense of awe as she looked upon the Green Lantern of New Krypton. Alex, in all of her glory as Commander Danvers, looked like one of the warrior queens of Krypton's ancient history, a perfect blending of scholar and warrior, her radiance shining brighter than Sol or Rao. Her Castor, returned to her once more, to judge her worthy of the bond of the Discouri that she had so easily cast aside.

Kara barely bit back a gasp as she realized that Alex was wearing the dress uniform of the Military Guild. Like any other guild, she wore a flowing robe like over tunic, albeit one with wide, short sleeves as was common for the warriors of Krypton. The over tunic was thickly emblazoned with the crest of the house of El in white High Kryptonian script. As the Commander drew closer, the El shimmered and changed colors, flickering briefly in the red and yellow of the El household before returning to white again. Her arms were sheathed in a light link weave, the material sturdy enough to turn away a blade or a light blaster shot, yet soft to the touch. Her wrists were bare of any adornment aside from her bondbracelet, the sacred jewelry no longer shielded by a lantern projection. The sight of it made Supergirl's stomach roll, but she ignored her discomfort as the persistent relief and joy at seeing Alex again, _alive_ , nearly stole her breath.

The green lantern ring glowed with quiet power, a counterpoint to the bondbracelet momentarily distracting Kara as she wondered just how Alex earned the honor. Knowing her sister it was some act of great brilliance and ingenuity or selfless courage. She felt pride, constant even during the darkest of her thoughts towards Alex, burn brightly as her soul sang for its pair. The soft clack of Alex's boots drew Supergirl's gaze back to her beloved sister's attire and she continued her perusal of the Warrior-Scholar Queen before her. A belt that bore the El crest looped her trim waist, cinching the tunic and holding an empty sheath for her sidearm. She wore the hakama like battle pants of the guild, the flare of the fabric tighter than that of the Earth garment and ending mid shin in a point, allowing her boots to be easily seen. She wore no mask, emerald eyes stern and piercing as she met and held Supergirl's gaze.

Alex's face was solemn, but there was an easy, confident mien about her that Kara Danvers had only seen the first few months she spent upon Earth. This was an Alex firmly at peace with her place in the universe, yet as she drew closer Kara could see the change, the restless energy that often entered her sister's posture once the burdens of a Protector had been placed upon her shoulders. She could hear that heartbeat, that cherished and long lost heartbeat filling her head, a pleasant echo that kicked up a notch to the cadence that Kara remembered. She didn't want to but she couldn't help but frown at the implication.

Alex was… uncomfortable around her…and she'd always been so.

The thought… the realization that Alex had never been comfortable with her, the thought that she was just one more burden to the human that was her safe haven nearly knocked her from her feet. She truly was Pollux then, a godling imposing her need upon her beloved mortal twin. Had Castor ever yearned for mortality, while held firmly and unyieldingly within Pollux's embrace? Would Alex chose a mortal Kara Zor-El over the demi-goddess that would see her returned to her side? Kara swallowed back the tears that wanted to bloom and she held perfectly still, wanting Alex to lead this encounter, too afraid that she might say the wrong thing. She swallowed the fear and the need and yearning and the endless, boundless love that seemed so useless in the face of this revelation and she steeled her heart to prepare for the long march towards forgiveness. She could taste Alex's fear in the air, this woman, now more culturally Kryptonian than Kara herself, was expected to pay the ultimate price to settle a blood feud. Had she made her peace? Had Alex said her goodbyes to the woman that wore her bracelet? Did she believe that Kara Danvers could rip out her own heart and put out her eyes a second time? Beneath the soul crushing sorrow that understanding brewed in her heart, Kara Danvers could feel the warm burn of pride. Alex Danvers would face down a god twenty years too late, because it was the right thing to do, because she would not see those she loved hurt in her stead. Kara's heart ached ever more for her pair in that moment, the sweetness of Alex's resolve tugging at her soul relentlessly. Yet Alex would find no vengeful executioner in Kara Danvers, only love, only supplication.

"Supergirl."

Just that one word, spoken in tones that Kara Danvers had only heard in dreams and old, illegally procured combat footage and Kara wanted to fall at Alex's feet in supplication. She knew what she had done…what she had become under the weight of grief, but Alex, whose loving heart was more kind than she would ever deserve would understand…wouldn't she? She would see more than the Maiden of Might that cast her aside, she would know the broken, ruined thing that Kara Danvers called a heart that beat only for her…wouldn't she? Alex, so gentle and strong, so wise and long suffering, her shield, her Light…surely there would be a place for Kara to earn her forgiveness and regard once more? Surely, even with her shame, she was more than merely Supergirl in her beloved Alex's eyes?

Wasn't she?

Realizing that Alex was tensing slightly as the silence went on, Kara's heart moved her body before she realized it and in the space of a second, Alex was within her embrace. Tears that she didn't realize were falling, fell into thick russet hair, ringed with silver and tied back with Kryptonian silk. The thought of grey, earned by age and wisdom that Kara wasn't there to witness, interwoven in Alex's tresses, and a cutting from a unity robe that wasn't her own, nearly shattered the super heroine and her quiet pain abruptly surged into desperate, aching sobs. The knowledge that even in this, she couldn't give her all to Alex, she couldn't cling to her and hold her tightly, her powers making her an alien in her own body to her apart further still. It hurt to breathe, to think, to feel even though all of Kara senses were filled with Alex, Alex, Alex. Her six chambered heart chanted Alex's name with each beat, a tattoo of her adoration and love thrumming in her lifeblood. Yet Alex could hear none of this and the fear that she would never be able to convey the depth of her love for Alex ever again made her feel as if she were free-falling powerlessly. She thought of the woman that had taken everything from her, the woman that called Alex away like a siren, offering succor rather than a horrible destruction against unyielding might. Alex could bear the touch of Lady El, could hold her and be held by her as they broke and mended, in passion and in deed. Kara Danvers has spent her life aching for that strength that Lady El so easily wielded, yearning to take her place, not as Clark's shadow but as Alex Danvers' equal.

Power was not in the tons that she could crush or carry, or in the otherworldly feats that she could perform, but instead in the impossibly simple act of caring and taking care of the one that had done the same for her selflessly. Yet when she clung too tightly, Alex buckled under the weight of expectation and when she let her go, Kara drowned in despair and yearning. She could _never_ be close enough, could never _have_ enough of Alex and in the one moment that her faith was tried in the fires of RedK and loss renewed, Kara was found lacking in every way. The Light was snuffed out, only to shine upon another, only to grow brighter in harmony with another. The DEO Director Alex Danvers was a magnificent woman, a broken thing that managed to shine even as she shattered, but this Noblewoman, this Lantern was an Alex Danvers that Kara could have only dreamed of. The thought that in the end she hadn't been of use to Alex at all, lacerated the Noble Servant within her soul. Muscles that had to remain under constant control began to tremble as a growling trill began to bracket the more human sounding whimpers and sobs. Yet it was that alien sound, purely Kryptonian, purely Kara, that spurred Alexandra Danvers into action.

Hands that were held limply away from her moved up, hesitantly, somewhat awkwardly before stroking her back soothingly. Kara struggled against the need to buckle, only to be guided gently to her knees as Alex slid carefully to her own. Kara Danvers didn't understand the words that she babbled out in Kryptonese and English, but she knew not how to articulate her pain, her fear and her desperate longing so she clung to her Light, weeping with a soul deep pain that eclipsed even the gaping maw of despair given the loss of her world and her people. She could be the last, she could be the Witness, but she couldn't wander in Darkness, she couldn't be Alone. Not again, never again. Awkward touches grew knowing and caring and then it was no longer Commander Danvers holding Supergirl, it was merely Alex holding a shattered Kara and putting her back together.

She heard Alex's voice, that sweet high contralto humming softly, a rarely exercised action that had sparked Kara's interest in singing soothe her and she grasped onto it desperately. Her hearing took in the whole of Alex, every sound she made, from the rushing of her blood to the lyrical sound of her voice, the natural cacophony allowing her to bring order to her frantic, flailing emotions.

After what felt like an eternity, Kara's tears subsided to wet sobs and hiccups even as her soul continued to shatter in grief and though she tried to fight it with all that she was, her body and mind could bear no more and she slipped into an exhausted slumber. Before she lost herself in dreams she felt hands slip under her knees and shift around her back in a modified bridal carry, her analytical mind briefly wondering at the mechanics given her denser molecular structure, before the warm of Alex lulled her deeper into Nightwing's embrace. She didn't feel her body being laid upon the lone cot within the cell, nor did she feel the hesitant press of lips against her brow even though the touch soothed her troubled heart further still. She didn't hear the Commander rise and walk with quiet, solemn steps out of the holding chamber. She didn't realize that she had been left alone once more.

Kara Danvers dreamt of a human world and a human wedding, Alex who was all things, mentor, protector, sister, friend, rival and now finally, blissfully bondmate at her side; she dreamt of a world where she had finally found her Purpose and her very DNA sang in joy at her true nature unveiled. In this world, Alex did not fear her, and by her side Alex remained, joys and sorrows shared love in all forms radiant and sustaining between them. She could be her protector and be protected by her, she could be her sister, friend and lover…she could be a heroine worthy to walk by her side.

Alex Danvers of the House of El stood outside the cell that held her wife, her hands trembling as she keyed in the same lock code sequence that she'd seen Director Lane key into her sister's holding cell. Somewhere in the back of her mind she felt annoyance at the fact that the code was her birthday by Earth reckoning. Shame rushed familiar and heady over her, not at seeing her sister first but at not having the resolve to put her bondmate's mind at ease before going to meet her fate. Alex could admit that fear drove her away from her Dawn. Fear that warm azure eyes would make her willing to put her bondmate's life in danger for the right to be with her, fear that Kara would take a blow meant for her and this cycle of pain that she began would never end. She was afraid that she would dampen her sister's light yet again, her heart breaking at the lonely sentinel Vasquez's passionate entreaty had described. if there was one thing that both sister and beloved had in common, it was the fear and outrage that Alex would set her life aside to see that those she loved would be protected.

She went to Supergirl, not to absolve a sister that Vasquez foolishly felt she needed to forgive. There was no reason for such a thing, for Alex's punishment had been a just one. There was nothing more substantial than the weight and solidarity of justice in Kryptonian culture. Their punishment absolute, carried out with truth and free of corruption, Alex had seen the weight of that mantle in loving the daughter of Justice's Scion herself. If Truth and Justice was a shield, then Love was a dagger, always aimed at one's heart. It was a release…and a condemnation. Knowing this, Alex Danvers had prepared to sacrifice everything one last time and to betray the promise to make the harder choice to live with her love and her guilt, their bittersweet kiss equally hers to bear.

She had gone to her judicator, expecting judgment to be handed out, ready to bear the brunt of Supergirl's fury to her very bones if it meant that her Kara would be safe. Power and rage, strong enough to shatter will, she would let it break her apart if it meant that Kara Zor-El Danvers had no reason to feud with Kara Zor-El of the houses of Danvers and El. Yet it was in tears and in _pain_ , watching this righteous goddess become her baby sister once more that she felt shame burn her alive. Her death, no matter how noble, would serve no purpose, her sister's pain would not be abated and knowing as she knew how deeply, how utterly intrinsically Kara Zor-El could love, she would only be sentencing the woman she swore on the Jewel of Truth to love and protect to the same darkness.

Her shame burned and solidified, tempered with understanding and she knew now who she was meant to be. A promise made with the belief that she was too frail, too human to be worthy of it, she sheathed it in her newfound resolve. Finally, she laid Alex Danvers to rest, and Lady Alexandra Danvers of the House of El walked towards the Dawn.

* * *

Reminder, Nightwing is also a Kyptonian primordial deity (counterpart/divine sibling/lover to Flamebird) and not just hero name of Dick Grayson. Kara Zor-El once wore the mantle of the god, although that has no influence on this story.


	15. Chapter 15

The Promises we Keep- Chapter 15

By: Ryu Niiyama

* * *

The words we say, the actions we take have meaning…govern one's self accordingly.

She had barely heard the door to her holding cell open, even then she couldn't muster the energy to move, hating that her lapse had caused so much pain and confusion. She shouldn't have allowed Kara Danvers to bait her, she knew, yet she couldn't resist the call to defend her beloved bondmate. It was only when she felt hands pressing with insistent, familiar intent against her shoulder armor that she raised her head and met the concerned gaze of her spouse.

Warm, dark hazel eyes, not emerald, flickered over her form, looking for injuries, the color a sign of the depth of Alexandra's concern. Her hands moved with familiar haste over the locks and clasps to the mid weight armor and Kara Zor-El reached out and gently grasped the human's hands.

"Alexandra, I am unharmed."

Kara flinched softly as her bondmate's intent gaze snapped back to meet her eyes, a desperate need for affirmation written upon her face. Slowly, she guided her Light's hands back to her armor and released them, allowing Alexandra to remove her helmet and torso armor. The Kryptonian stifled the tickle in her throat at the thinner atmosphere, but she would not deny Alexandra something she obviously needed. She could tell her beloved was agitated as she simply used her ring to sweep the armor away as she removed it, tucking it neatly by the cot within the cell. Normally, she would not use her power so casually, more aware of her lantern light as a tool, rather than an integral part of who she was. Powers or no, Alexandra Danvers still took pride in her humanity, for all of its fragility and vice. She never asked Kara to be a human for her, and in return Kara never sought a Kryptonian in Alexandra.

Alexandra's hands glided over her bondmate's torso, clinical touches searching for wounds that Kara would be too stubborn to admitting to having. She passed her hands over the powerfully muscled back, briefly tracing the scar that ran diagonally from shoulder to hip, the wound earned when Kara had been around 17 in human terms and in the midst of quelling a burgeoning uprising. In terms of brute, physical strength, Kara was the far stronger of the two of them, but it didn't stop Alex from half tugging, half hauling her into a firm embrace. The Kryptonian let out a soothing trill as she felt Alex's face burrow against her neck and she returned the urgent press of strong arms, holding her smaller mate close.

She began to whisper soothing reassurances in Kryptonese, knowing that she'd rightly frightened her beloved. This was not the first time that either of them had stared down oblivion, but repeating the experience bred no familiarity. Kara remembered many a time pressing her bondmate to the floor of their chambers or against a wall in their bedroom when privacy became more of a concern, losing herself in the rush of her bondmate's life blood and vibrant spirit. She had come to learn how to crave the human way of intimacy with one's bondmate, although she was pleased that Alexandra's naturally thoughtful personality meant that she didn't find Kryptonian intimacy lacking.

Kara's words trailed off, although she continued to purr softly, pressing feather light kisses into her bondmate's hair. They stayed that way for several long moments, before Alexandra pushed away and although Kara wanted to keep her close, she allowed her bondmate to move away.

"I'll talk to Lane, and see about getting you released. We need to talk about this, te:zrhemin, but not here. I will find Nor-Zar and then you and I will fix this."

Kara nodded, and she felt tears sting the corners of her eyes, hearing the reaffirmation of their bond in the stilted words. She had to stop herself from covering her bond bracelet with her hand, not wanting to let on just yet how terrified she'd been at the core. Yet her joy was short lived, for she remembered that she had a reason for going to the place that Alexandra had once called home. A reason that she suspected Kara Danvers would keep her from.

She could not allow that, not when she was so close to giving Alexandra everything.

The Martian Manhunter stood in the small apartment that he called his own. A quiet, safe place had been all that he truly required; the living space Spartan even by military standards. J'onn prided himself on his staid composure, but he nearly startled out of his disguise as he turned on the lights and found the Green Lantern of .Jor:Krypton sitting at his kitchen table. The Martian said nothing, merely moving to his refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of buttermilk and then procuring two glasses. He opened his snack cupboard and snagged a bag of oreos, mint stuffed which were Alex's favored type, and sat down opposite his former subordinate.

Alex accepted the glass of milk and opened the bag of cookies, reaching in and grabbing two. As was her custom since childhood, she unscrewed the sandwich and licked the cream before putting the cookie back together and dunking it. J'onn let his eyes roam over his surrogate daughter, noting the changes in her hair color in contrast to the relative youth of her features. Alex no longer looked as haunted as she had when she transferred to Washington DC, no longer spending her evenings crawling into the bottom of a bottle and barely sleeping. Nor did she look like the husk that existed only for duty when she took up leadership of the DC branch of the DEO. He knew the source of her stabilized aging, but he was wary of the reason and the impact. Had the New Kryptonians intended to keep Alex as some sort of hostage? Did they intend to make her a sleeper agent? He didn't want to think the worst, but he had seen and survived too much betrayal and death to dismiss it out of hand.

Where did her loyalties lie? He didn't remember Alex referring to herself as anything other than a citizen of New Krypton…has she abandoned all thoughts of returning to Earth? The Martian's train of thought was derailed as emerald eyes pinned him, the gaze both familiar and alien to him. J'onn knew then that the time for deliberation was over, Alex Danvers no longer sat opposite him, but instead a member of the Military Guild of .Jor:Krypton. He suspected that she wanted answers about her sister, and if it meant having the Danvers' sisters mend their rift, then he would answer whatever question she had.

Sleeper agent or not.

Locked in her home office in Midvale, Dr. Elizabeth Ann Danvers looked over her edits to her latest paper. She had to argue with her team for about six months but it was finally ready for submission. Her therapist would have a field day with this, and Kara as well, but work had always been her refuge. Her drive got her through college when Jeremiah Danvers wanted to play beer pong rather than study, and she'd been certain that he'd fail out of undergrad. It got her through when she met him years later, his personality still lax, but his theorems sublime.

It was hard to believe that she'd disliked the man that would eventually become her husband, thinking that he didn't care about his work, annoyed that he worked a fraction as hard as she did but his mind allowed him easy success. He had surprised her, apologizing for his behavior in undergrad and offering to start their friendship anew. In time he became the truest friend she'd ever had, and when they began their hesitant courtship years later, she knew she'd truly found her foil. When Alex was born a few years after that and she watched him weep as he held her tiny form, she knew that she would do anything for these perfect beings in her life. Yet she couldn't resist the siren's call of work and in time her skill brought Clark Kent to their doorstep. If only she'd told him no, but he was a young man convinced that he was becoming a monster and Jeremiah's heart broke for him. So they helped Clark Kent become Superman, and he trusted them with his life…and eventually the life of his older cousin.

Kara Zor-El had come to them with an agony that no one in the universe should have to bear, especially not a child. As she watched the young brunette follow Alex around like a baby duck, she found that she could fall in love for a third time. Yet love came with so much pain and destruction. Eliza knew that she should have tried to understand Alex's fear that she was being cast aside, but once they'd lost Jeremiah, there was no time. No time to mourn the loss of her best friend and beloved, because she had two daughters to raise; no time to ease Alex's pain because Kara needed so much attention to help her moderate her powers that only grew as she aged. By the time she had knitted her broken heart together, Alex was a stranger.

Yet Alex had Kara, and if it meant that Eliza would have to suffer alone and without the daughters that she adored so much, at least Alex and Kara had each other. She would become a shield keeping her daughters away from the scrutiny of the world, even as she longed for the days when every sunrise was a secret between her and Alex, when they would eat blueberry pancakes on lazy Saturday mornings and dance in the living room with kitchen spoons as microphones.

When Alex began to chafe under her fear and worry and Kara spent more time as a mediator than a daughter, Eliza Danvers turned to the sanctuary of her work. She studied and worked and if she focused hard enough she could see her husband bringing in Alex from school, covered in mud, but having won first place in the science fair. She could hear her daughter say that she wanted to be a surgeon when she grew up, in place of her mother who didn't have the manual dexterity needed for the job. If she worked hard enough, she could see her girls growing up healthy and happy, without having to put their lives on the line for a world that would never appreciate their sacrifices. If she worked hard enough, Alex would be alive somewhere other than her memories.

The biochemist was so lost in thought that she almost didn't hear the knock at her front door. Frowning, Dr. Danvers rose and went to the front door and her eyes widened as she saw a figure in full Kryptonian armor. Given the last Kryptonians that weren't her charges tried to kill off humanity, Eliza reached for the necklace that held a DEO homing beacon that Alex had given her a few months before she and Kara had their falling out. Before she could press the clasp a hand shot out and gently, but firmly grasped hers. The helmet of the Kryptonian went transparent and Dr. Eliza Danvers gasped as she looked upon a face that looked so much like her daughter's. Yet a mother would know her daughter anywhere and she knew as she took in the hair that was as dark as it had been when Kara first came to Earth and eyes that were also darker in hue, that this woman was not her child.

"Hello, Eliza Danvers. I know that you recognize my face, but I would be remiss in failing to introduce myself to you. My name is Kara Zor-El of the house of Danvers. Peace and long life to you revered mother."

The Green Lantern of .Jor:Krypton flew towards the ship Alexandria, her thoughts in turmoil at the confirmation that J'onn had given her. Vasquez had been right, her sister should have lived, should have thrived without Alex to hold her back, but instead it seemed her light dimmed ever further. Alex grit her teeth determined to fix what she had apparently left broken. However, she would do so without offering her life in parlay, she swore-

No one saw the Green Lantern drop from the sky like a marionette that had its strings cut.

Supergirl sat on the cot in the now open and inert holding cell, struggling not to cry. Alex was gone yet again. She knew that she shouldn't be hurt by that, Alex had a job to do- they both did, but she struggled to wonder if she'd ever be allowed to make things right. Even Alex's cherished heartbeat had been soured against her, tension flowing in veins, shouting out her terror of Kara Zor-El. The Last Daughter of Krypton shook her head, trying not to let her overactive mind take her down paths that would lead to madness. They hadn't truly spoken, and until Alex condemned her outright she had to hold out hope.

She was certain her heart would stop beating in her breast if she didn't.

The Maiden of Might let out a sigh and rose to her feet and within the tick of a second she was hurtling away into the sky. It only took about three minutes, for her to reach the Fortress of Remembrance and she hovered briefly before landing soundlessly outside of the force field. With a wave her hand the gate of the Fortress became visible and she keyed in the code that allowed her entry. The ice fortress was massive, larger than the Fortress of Solitude, a mausoleum dedicated solely to the memory of those that Kara Danvers's loved most. She didn't collect pets and wayward technology like her cousin; unlike Kal she didn't take some macabre comfort in being surrounded by fellow endangered species and artifacts of dead cultures.

Instead this place was a monument of her love for Krypton and those of her family that she'd lost. With quiet, floating steps, Kara Danvers walked into the wing that served as the memorial to Alexandra Danvers. She looked with reverent, pained eyes upon all the ice sculptures that chronicled Alexandra's life. There was space for another, an empty testament to taunt Kara with what she had thrown away, only now it would seem that it had served its purpose.

It was time to give it a new one.

Kara unclipped her cape and hung it up on a peg nearby. With, slow reverent movements she removed the kevlar weave armor and boots, transferring her phone to the computer that powered the Fortress. Nude, the Last Daughter of Krypton walked towards the massive bath several stories in length that held pristine water pumped in directly from the frigid Arctic waters of the south pole. The blonde heroine knelt in supplication praying to Rao and blessing the water before her, hoping that Rao would accept her entreaty in lieu of a Voice of Rao. Rising, Kara Danvers inhaled and held her breath and closed her eyes, thinking of Alex's smile. She picked up a large basin and scooped out some of the water, placing it on the ground near the tub. Keeping that sweet image in her head, she exhaled her frost breath, freezing the water in the holding chamber. Once the water was solid ice, she quickly braided her hair and then levitated so that she was above the Ice. She stared at the pristine surface, seeing her distorted reflection and for a moment she saw herself on redK again, the vengeful banshee, tearing apart the one bond that meant everything. In the next moment she saw Lady El, so similar but universes apart from Kara Danvers.

Kara squeezed her eyes shut, willing her demons to leave her in peace for just a little while. With the same ease it would take to push one's fingers through wet tissue paper, the blonde slowly pushed her hands shoulder width apart into the ice until it reached just below her elbows. Carefully, she gripped lightly, just enough to make a handhold but still keep the ice from cracking, Kara floated the ice tower from the massive tub and flew slowly until she could alight it upon the base. The Kryptonian pulled out her hands and drifted over to the basin. She picked up the water filled container and slowly drifted back towards the inert ice statue. Carefully, she poured the water into the holes she had made and froze them back over, the ice whole once again.

The basin clanged against the flooring as she dropped it and Kara Danvers began her work. Her hands thrust and cut, breaking a rough outline of the statue that lived within the ice and she drifted and floated, making changes and adjustments, pouring more water and freezing it again where she made mistakes. She was easily dwarfed by the towering ice, a small, nude, female Hephaestus working her craft as the Olympians did in countless paintings of old. Yet she worked with careful diligence, putting the whole of her spirit into her work…Alex deserved that much at least. Devotion that she couldn't break, love that would always be pure, trust that stood that test of time, at least in ice, Kara could always be faithful. Kara worked naked for a number of reasons, her suit was made of human materials and she didn't want to ruin it… however, the truest reason was that in this way, stripped bare, with only her intentions cloaking her, she felt she could do justice and reverence to the woman she sought to immortalize.

When the rough hewing was done she floated back and walked over to a small table in the far corner of the room. She reached for the stasis container that held a carton of cigarettes and pulled out one. Tobacco tasted horrible to her Kryptonian taste buds, but the discomfort helped her focus and conceptualize. Even though cancer was literally impossible for her to contract, she smoked sparingly, only using the drug when she needed to create a new sculpture. Kara finished her last drag of the cigarette and floated back to the half formed ice. Carefully, she focused her heat vision, using with the precision of a micro scalpel and she began to craft the finer truer details of the sculpture.

The warmth and purpose in Alex's eyes, the perpetual smirk that graced her lips, her hair, now long again and bound in a carefully woven braid all these things she coaxed forth from the ice. Kara found herself talking, telling Alex about all the things she'd missed, all the apologies she wanted to issue. She spoke and rambled and babbled until her heat vision began to sputter as tears filled her eyes. Her senses began to overload, as her memories consumed her, Kara gripped biceps with the strength to topple buildings and she half fell half floated, rocking back and forth in the air and she let out a plaintive wail.

Only lifeless, stoic figures of ice heard her whisper of Alex's name.

He laughed because he could, even though no one was left to hear him as he dropped a projection in the shape of a spear into her heart. She had been the last of the hunt and he now walked a path that he couldn't return from, yet for now he would wear his mask one last time. He had a few more pieces to maneuver after all.

* * *

Kara in the comics smokes (because she can and not get cancer) and is a little genius ball of brooding rage and sunshine. I'm leaning on that more, but trying to blend MB's Kara Danvers with Kara Zor-El of the comics. MB does pain quite well and the few times that they allow her to touch on Kara's survivor status she handles it with aplomb.

te:zrhemin: my wife (using the female variant of the word, which would only be used among spouses and is considered rude if used by an outsider. As such I would think that Alex would transliterate the word in her own mind as _beloved_ ; similar to Anata (which means _you_ literally, but is used between spouses) in Japanese.


	16. Chapter 16

The Promises we Keep- Chapter 16

By: Ryu Niiyama

* * *

Let fear fester and boil, let it break apart the falseness of will; let fear put asunder what will could not protect.

"Nononononono!"

The light of Will flickers and sputters but it manages to flare weakly, halting the tumbling free-fall that would have spelt certain death for the Lantern. She could feel a drain on her reserves, the ring leaching more of her will to maintain its basic powers. She dispelled her suit, switching to the basic flight suit of the Lantern Corps, her mask fading away like burning paper. The emerald light guttered again and she dropped like a stone. A quick, analytical mind and assessing eyes snapped down, grateful that she was hurtling towards a lake and she called for the power of the ring in spurts, slowing her descent before she encased her body in a projection and hit the water.

For a moment or several she sunk into the dark depths before swimming to the surface, she exerted as little energy as possible making simple, familiar projections and creating a platform that she could float on. She lay on her back and looked up into the sky, panting heavily. Blinking emerald eyes, she tapped into her inner self, gauging the power of the ring. She didn't need to recharge daily and had not exerted herself, and the ring didn't impact her ability to heal, so she should have still been at full strength for several more days. Yet something was wrong…dreadfully wrong.

Still, the ring was a tool of will, and the Green Lantern of .Jor:Krypton had plenty of that to spare. It would debilitate her until she returned to the DEO to recover her Lantern Battery…or had it been removed by the healers already? No, that couldn't be true as it would have been returned to her immediately. So she would have to endure until she recovered her battery. Still, she needed to speak with Kara before she went on the hunt again for Nor-Zar and she had a sinking feeling that they were running out of time. Gingerly, the Lantern pushed off from her projection and shot back into the sky, albeit slower than before.

As her feet touched the ground in the hangar, she was grateful that Kara had not been there to meet her. The Green Lantern paused, wiping blood from her nose with the back of her hand and she walked into the ship's living area. The Alexandria was smaller than the vanguard ship but it was designed as both a diplomatic vessel and a dwelling. The hangar was large enough to house Alex's flight ship, her craft more practical in design although her ship was undergoing repairs on the Vanguard ship. She padded carefully into the library, usually Kara's first place of choice, and she found her bondmate curled up in a chair reading a copy of Plato's Republic.

Alex smirked as she realized that it was the copy that was in her apartment. Her bondmate must have procured it when she left before Alex awoke. Yet her amusement was short-lived. Now that she knew that her sister lived in Midvale again, her attack was more in line with the woman that J'onn and Vasquez had described. Supergirl hadn't hunted down her Dawn, she'd merely given into her anger when she saw her. Yet that still didn't explain why Kara was there in the first place. Before she could question or alert her bondmate to her presence, Kara's eyes snapped to her direction, her more sensitive hearing making it so that she could hear Alex's footsteps against the flooring. Her heart warmed at the love and then concern that rapidly shaded the Sovereign of .Jor:Krypton's gaze.

Alexandra, my Light what happened?

Kara rose immediately and rushed to Alexandra's side, her sharp azure eyes searching for signs of injury that her equally stubborn mate would try to hide. The Lantern smiled knowingly under the scrutiny and she kept her posture neutral, indulging Kara. She explained that she would need to recharge soon, but other than that she felt fine. Concern barely abated, the Kryptonian swept up her beloved into her arms and carried her over to the nearby lounge chaise. When she moved to lay Alexandra upon the furniture, the human tightened her grip and Kara chuckled softly. Even after all of this time together, Alexandra was reticent in voicing her needs. Smoothly, the Kryptonian turned and sat upon the lounger herself, allowing Alexandra time to adjust herself before she tightened her hold, keeping the human close.

Alexandra reached out and held Kara's cheek with one hand, meeting her eyes, the Kryptonian variation of the gesture more intimate than it would be on Earth. Kara closed her eyes, relishing the touch before opening them again and leaning forward to meet Alexandra's lips in a kiss, the human intimacy warm and undemanding.

They parted and Alexandra's eyes were drawn to an image frame upon the table closest to the lounger. Kara could feel her bondmate tense, reminded of the hollow ache that the enforced return to Earth had inspired. She rubbed the tense muscles, half soothing, half massaging as she subconsciously began to purr.

"This will be over soon Alexandra, I have complete faith in you…and Var." The last was said with a waggle of her eyebrows and it produced the chuckle that she was aiming for. Yet she knew that her beloved was not entirely at peace with her, she could feel Alexandra need to confront her for her battle with Kara Danvers, a small, petty part of her was briefly annoyed at the concern for the betrayer yet she knew better than most how deeply the bonds of family ran. With a mental huff, she strangled the life out of the thought, refusing to blame Alexandra for anything.

Kara dropped her forehead onto her bondmate's shoulder, the gesture of one of surrender and trust as she waited for Alexandra to ask her question.

"I know why te:ie would have been in Midvale, but I don't know why _you_ were."

Kara blanched expecting a challenge about the fight itself but not that Alexandra had tracked their original location. Truth was one of the Girod and thus Kara Zor-El, perhaps even worse than Kara Danvers was a horrible liar, yet she felt compelled, knowing that Alexandra wouldn't understand. She wouldn't see what Kara was willing to do, willing to give to see her happy, and Kara wouldn't let loyalty keep Alexandra from home. Kara ached to give her _more_ , more than a life of a vagabond queen, more than a life as an alien. Kara must have delayed in her answer too long for Alexandra moved to place a hand over her six chambered heart.

"I will follow you my Lady even to my death."

She pressed their wrists together, sighing softly at the gentle chime of Kandorian silver. That clear ring of unity, spoke to Kara Zor-El's soul and she nodded at the declaration of fealty from her most trusted subject. Alexandra took her hand and kissed her palm, an ancient gesture of loyalty when an acolyte swore the vows to enter into service as a retainer. Alexandra had never performed such a ceremony as she was inducted into the same Guild as Kara, yet the implication spoke volumes. Before Kara could question her, Alexandra interlaced her fingers with that same hand, the gesture one shared between spouses.

"Before that you are my wife, and nothing must come before this marriage, nothing. Or everything that we've built becomes _nothing_." She said the common, human words the way they were meant to be said. She said them the same way one said _forever_ , for she swore either her life or forever on the jewel of truth. She said them the same way one said _never_ , for she would never allow their bond to be broken. One heart given in exchange for another and Alexandra Elizabeth Danvers of the House of El guarded such a thing with the burning ferocity of a thousand suns. Kara Zor-El of House Danvers was humbled by the quiet declaration, yet she didn't ignore the reprimand that was laced within. Alexandra would fight her gift after all…yet Kara would not be deterred for she too, loved with all that she was. With a soft smile, she feathered back an errant lock of russet hair before she answered her beloved's earlier inquiry.

"I wanted to meet Kah:Ieiu, Alexandra…after all I would never get the chance again."

A truth that wasn't forthcoming was a truth nonetheless. Alexandra's curiosity would be sated and Kara would continue her work once Earth was safe once again. Kara flinched as Alexandra jerked back, but she didn't let her bondmate break her hold. She cursed herself for her honesty as she watched tears well up in Alexandra's eyes and she wanted to cut out her own tongue for her folly.

"Is she well?"

The softness of her voice belied the way it cracked as the human struggled to push the words through a suddenly swollen throat. Kara nodded, taking the time to choose her words carefully, realizing the hesitancy that time and distance had placed within her beloved's heart. How she longed to eradicate that hesitancy…if she could turn back time she would pluck Kal and her counterpart from Earth before they could do any harm. Yet she knew she could not wish for what she could not do, not when she still had the power to see Alex home.

She spoke carefully, telling of Eliza Danvers' condition, and the surprising fact that Eliza didn't seem upset that Kara was a member of House Danvers. She attributed some of it to the shock of hearing good tidings of a daughter that Eliza Danvers thought long dead and gone, but some of it was a call to the enduring love of a mother for her daughter. Alexandra had not been forsaken as she believed, and oddly enough now as a woman older and wiser with more expansive life experience, Alexandra could accept that. She wasn't a disappointment, despite her best efforts; her mother had been drowning in her own pain and when she wanted to be gentle her fear made her stern, when she ached to be supportive, her worry made her expectant. Alex could understand that, and so as she leaned into her bondmate she let her tears stain Kara's robes and she wept with a joy that she had long forsaken.

Kara merely held her, her lantern in the dark.

Superman hovered over the tundra of the South Pole, his eyes useless against the prowess of Kryptonian ingenuity. Lois had warned him that a ship had been sighted in National City, but he knew that the DEO would only stonewall him, so he hesitated in investigating. Lois had poked and prodded at him, insisting that he make up with Kara, citing her own fights with Lucy as a reason for him not to let the distance fester.

Clark struggled against her advice the part of him that was absolutely adoring and in awe of Lois, insisting she was correct, even as he felt that she didn't understand. Kara was… _different_ , so different from him and what he wanted. To the world she may have fit in a bumbling but unremarkable human, but to Clark she stood out, a klaxon of alien customs and traits that made him uncomfortable. He remembered the solemn child that had been insistent that she could guide their House, that together they would keep alive the watch fires of Rao. He remembered her odd pronunciation, little nuances that still slipped out when she was truly annoyed, and her careless strength as she didn't have the burden of growing up in a world that was exceedingly fragile.

He loved her but there was still this distance that kept him from being what she wanted. He wasn't Kal-El, and even though she called him Clark, the C was a hard K because even after all this time she wanted to call him Kal. She emulated him in some ways and exerted her inhumanness in others and it…disturbed him even now. Clark Kent was an Earth man with extraordinary abilities, he was grateful for his parent's sacrifice, but his home was a small farm in Kansas where he called his parents every Sunday and visited every other week.

Now Kara was more of a stranger than ever. After her spat with Alex and Alex's death in the field, it was like she took off some of the shroud of Kara Danvers. Yet since she had spent so much time on Earth, there were pieces of Kara Danvers that seemed grafted to her skin. He thought of the ways Supergirl had changed, she was a warrior in mourning constantly, no longer a broken bird that tried to emulate and blend in to earn affection. Her suit had been upgraded, the material still Earth sourced but now it looked more like the light fighting suits of the Military Guild. She was missing the armor, but Clark suspected that had more to do with the fact that the indestructible aura which kept their clothes from being destroyed extended only a few millimeters from their skin.

The Crest of El was now written in a Kryptonian script that Clark still couldn't read and there was an aching ferocity in the way that she fought now. Clark wanted to understand, he wanted to help her but she had rejected him, calling him out on his half abandonment long ago. He knew that she was correct in that but he didn't know what else to do. His life was dangerous enough, and it had been hard enough for him to find his way in a world that raised him but still considered him an alien. He thought of when Non had let loose his mind control and he had been battered under the waves. Yet a part of him had been grateful…relieved that Krypton had deemed him human.

The Man of Steel sighed and crossed his legs as he hovered, waiting on Kara to emerge from…somewhere around here. She'd been thorough when she built her Fortress, able to wield Kryptonian technology in a way that Clark Kent could only marvel at. She wouldn't be happy to see him, he knew, but she would forgive…Kara always forgave.

…Except with Alex…but that was different…she wasn't family.

The superhero had been so lost in thought that he barely noticed the Yellow light until it was upon him. He staggered midair as a punch, not as powerful as Kara's thank goodness, smashed into his jaw. He and J'onn didn't agree most of the time but he knew that the Martian wouldn't attack him, even if he was inordinately protective of Kara. Cornflower blue eyes narrowed as he looked upon the yellow glow, unable to make out the armored features of his attacker. He gasped as she saw a familiar crest and floated backwards, wary.

"Who the heck are you?"

That was the last statement that Superman could utter before he was engulfed by brilliant, blinding, terrifying yellow. Three minutes later, Supergirl shot out from the Fortress, about 40 miles west of where her cousin went missing, heading towards the DEO.

Supergirl walked into the war room, grateful that she hadn't missed the briefing even though she was mildly annoyed that Hank had summoned her before she had finished her work. Her annoyance dissipated with the wind as she saw Alex in her customary Green Lantern regalia, minus her mask staring at the projections that General Var was pointing to. She allowed herself a few moments to let her eyes rake over Alex's confident, heroic mien, the part of her soul that loved Alex in every way that a woman could love another, thrilling at the sight of her. She noted the impersonal distance between Alex and Lady El, their masks firmly in place, however the noblewoman was looking increasingly agitated from behind her helmet. She realized that Alex too was beginning to look discomforted, although it was outrage that tinged her open face. Confused, Supergirl looked towards Hank whose hand was half on his firearm and there was a dull undercurrent of red beginning to seep into his dark eyes.

The Maiden of Might faltered and then surged forward as she heard Var issue an accusation, pointing to another screen to support her claim. Lady El moved smoothly, catching Supergirl's arm at the elbow and halting her with a painful squeeze, their eyes meeting and holding. The High Chancellor raised her voice enough to be heard as she spoke with unwavering authority.

"General Var. Take Commander Danvers into custody. I will speak with the council to prepare for arbitration."

* * *

Ie = sister

Kah:Ieiu= mom [using the first person honorific, to imply both respect and that Lady El considers Eliza not a mother in law but a mother as she has the Kryptonian view of a combined house. So that association would be different but with a significant amount of overlap with how Kara Danvers views Eliza, who has not replaced her mother but is family nonetheless)


	17. Chapter 17

The Promises we Keep: Chapter 17

By: Ryu Niiyama

* * *

What an albatross truest love makes.

Warm water sluiced against soft skin that sheathed powerful muscle, staining dark fawn hair until it was dark, earthen, brown yet it didn't wash away her transgressions. The chiseled form of a warrior noble stood under the falling water like a martyr condemned, her muscular arms spread wide as delicate hands pressed against the tile of the shower. She couldn't look upon Alexandra's face as Thara took her away, and somehow seeing the outrage in the glowing eyes of her counterpart made it worse. She barely had the wherewithal to remind Hank Henshaw that interference with .Jor:Krypton's citizens and legal customs would be considered an act of war. A part of her wished that the Martian had challenged her, so that she would have some easier excuse to send Alexandra away, but she had to wait, she knew this.

The people had to come first always. For Earth this was nothing more than a mild inconvenience that most of its denizens would not be aware of. However for .Jor:Krypton…the thought of losing a House and one that was relied upon heavily during trade agreements could tip .Jor:Krypton into war. The council kept a tenuous hold over the noble Houses as it was, if the bondmate of the High Chancellor was thought to be given special treatment after such a transgression…it would place the lives of every member of the House of El in danger. No one knew this, no one understood this more than she…but the cost…by Rao the cost was so high. Alexandra was a soldier and a scientist besides; she would understand, but there was a nagging fear that clawed at her breast that this would be the thing that broke the trust they shared.

She could lose Alexandra, she could even watch her bestow her Light upon an undeserving Kara Danvers, but it was the thought that she could be _forgotten_ , that terrified Kara Zor-El. In the same day that Alexandra reaffirmed her fealty and adoration, her faith in _them_ …Kara had her arrested. Could Alexandra forgive? Should she? What if there was not enough evidence to support Alexandra's innocence? Kara Zor-El, First of her Name shut down at the thought of what she would have to do if her bondmate was found guilty. She didn't hear the inhuman keening that issued from her throat as she sunk to her knees, her tears intermingling with the falling water around her. She stayed that way for a few moments, trapped in a fugue state of despair with only her darkening thoughts and fears as company.

Kara Zor-El jerked, barely keeping herself from falling and injuring herself in the shower as the door was kicked forcibly and the ensuite door slammed open. It would be nearly impossible to take a fighting stance while being slicked and drenched with water and on her knees, yet a part of her refused to give her attacker the satisfaction of seeing her at a disadvantage. She bit back the annoyed sigh at the sight of Supergirl standing before her, tangible rage bleeding off her in waves. The Alexandria was fitted with Raoian light emitters throughout the entirety of the ship so she knew that Kara Danvers was bereft of the monstrous powers that she normally exhibited on Earth. The Kryptonian immigrant seemed to realize that she'd forfeited her overwhelming advantage and so she held her stance but didn't move to attack, although it was obvious that she wanted to. Lady El sighed and rose to her full height, ignoring her nudity as she moved to turn off the water.

"Supergirl. If you would not mind allowing me to dress first?"

The Protector of Earth nodded gruffly and stepped outside, the ensuite door hissing closed in her wake. If Lady El had been a younger woman, she'd grumble under her breath about the universe's poor timing. Still, she at least indulged in pinching the bridge of her nose, a gesture that she'd picked up from her bondmate as she stepped carefully out of the shower and toweled off her powerful form. She bypassed the robes she had intended upon wearing, moving instead towards the walk in closet that adjoined the bathing chamber. She knew instinctively what would happen the moment that she stepped outside that door, and at the very least she would be prepared for it.

Lady El dressed quickly and walked into the sitting room where she could hear her younger counterpart pacing. Strange, that was not a habit of hers, perhaps it is one that her counterpart had picked up while living on Earth. The young Kryptonian turned when she heard Lady El enter the room and as her eyes took in her garb she squared her shoulders but remained wary. The two daughters of the House of El assessed the other, noting the differences in physique and bearing, Lady El's body no longer shrouded in armor and Supergirl no longer drenched in rainwater and pain. Lady El noted the slightly off cast to her counterpart's eyes, a darkness lay lurking behind them likely born from her fate as being one of the last remnants of her kind. In honesty, Lady El couldn't imagine such a thing; she allowed herself a grudging amount of respect for her counterpart, even with Alexandra's guiding light, she was not certain that her despair wouldn't have driven her to seek Rao's Embrace.

Supergirl noted the scaring upon Lady El's bared and more muscular arms, this was no soft noble that spent her days ordering others around. Instead this was the form of a woman that had to fight perhaps for her life and that of those she loved and her scars, while not plentiful, were an open testament to her struggles. She didn't have the saving grace of Sol to protect her from the majority of harm, battle for her held the constant threat of death, a concept that was almost foreign to the Maiden of Might. Had she earned any of those wounds protecting Alex? Would she step in front of harm's way without a second thought if it meant keeping Alex…her bondmate…safe?

Sky blue eyes drifted to the bond bracelet upon Lady El's right wrist. It had been hidden under her armor, but she remembered seeing its gleaming luster when she confronted the noble as she bathed and it sparkled as a bright reminder of Supergirl's loss. It had twinkled brightly, matching its twin as Lady El loved Alex in a manner that Kara Danvers had barely had the courage to dream of. She had known that she'd loved Alex with all that she was. Alex's was her person, her Light, her everything. That is why it destroyed her when she found out what Alex had done, yet why didn't she see another way? Why didn't she think of what it had cost Alex to make such a decision? Would she have condemned J'onn to death… just to keep her Aunt Astra alive? Yet a part of her wondered if her Aunt Astra's salvation would have been enough...she knew why her rage burned so brightly under RedK, she knew why Alex was not there within black dreams...

The Maiden of Might blinked away her self-recrimination, for now was not the time. Alex had been betrayed yet again, and this time, _this time_ , Kara Danvers would be her protector. She would uphold the vows she had made in her heart so long ago, she would prove that bright luster around Lady El's wrist to be false. Determined, Supergirl stepped forward only for Lady El to raise her hand in an arresting motion, a look of near boredom upon her face. Supergirl bristled internally at the condescending look upon her counterpart's face but she didn't move further.

"I know that you find it easier to think me a monster, so that you can play savior like a child, yet you forget the weight of responsibility and its terrible, terrible price. You, who fly through the skies, who can crumble mountains, know _nothing_ of the everyday work it requires to keep justice true and fair. You, Kara Danvers, are merely a heroine…Yet I must be a ruler."

Supergirl did move forward at that, ignoring the heavy, weary, commanding tone of a woman that had fulfilled her Purpose to rule and protect…and yet had failed the one that needed her protection the most. Was this their fate? Alex Danvers was cursed to give her all to a Kara Zor-El that could only let her down in the end? No, she couldn't accept that. The superheroine reached out and gripped the natural steel of her counterpart's biceps, shaking her slightly.

"Damnit, this is Alex, you are _bound_."

Lady El scoffed and broke the younger Kryptonian's hold with ease and pushed her back. She frowned and fought the urge to mimic Alexandra's habit of rolling her eyes when annoyed.

"Do NOT presume to lecture me, child."

The noblewoman reached up and covered her bondbracelet, her thumb caressing it as if it was Alex's skin. It scalded Supergirl to see Lady El take comfort from the sacred jewelry, but she said nothing. After a moment Lady El squared her shoulders, resolute once again.

"You live in a paradise, while I have kept Alexandra adrift. Home… was supposed to be my _gift_ to her…a legacy truly beautiful and without shame…and even that was tainted. The prototype wasn't ready…and now I must be her sovereign, not her bondmate."

Kara Danvers struggled against the futility in Lady El's tone. How could she stand there and accept this and be content to do nothing? Lady Kara Zor-El had been blessed with the fullness of Alex's love, not shaded by false familial ties or by a world that would destroy them both for merely existing. Alex was everything that she couldn't give to Kara Danvers, and Lady El acted as if that love was not the most important thing in any universe. She had been blessed by Rao and thought it _common_ …Supergirl couldn't stomach it.

"Do you think she did it? That she convinced Nor to come here?"

Lady El rolled her eyes at that, and for a moment Supergirl was reminded that the woman while older was still Kara Zor-El just as she was. The elder noble looked at her counterpart as if she was a simple child for even suggesting such a thing.

"Alexandra? No, I never volunteered any information that project, although she has access to my workstation, she could have found my notes there. That, is not the kind of woman that Alexandra is, she is…she kept to your accursed purpose better than you did."

Supergirl filed that accusation away for later, noting the bitter tone that tinged her counterpart's words. She cared not for her Purpose for now, she had gone her entire life without it. What mattered instead was protecting Alex, even if it meant protecting her from the one she should have been able to trust above all else.

"And if you are wrong?"

Lady El frowned but her gaze was resolute, just as it had been when she commanded Var to arrest Alexandra. She could not be less than what she was, for the law binds all of .Jor:Krypton.

"Then…she shall be charged with treason. We don't have the resources to send her to the Phantom Zone. She would be …executed."

Supergirl reeled at the words and without warning she lunged at her counterpart. Without the power of Sol fueling her cells, Supergirl was at a supreme disadvantage, yet she would not let that deter her from avenging the woman she loved and failed. Lady El may have been older and more experienced, but Kara Danvers had youth and rage on her side. Lady El sidestepped the swing, a quick application of pressure and redirection tossing her attacker to the plush carpeted deck. Supergirl rose instantly, her posture more wary as she recognized the movements of Klurkor in Lady El's counters. She had not trained in the military guild's martial way in years, the rigors of the training a painful reminder of home and useless in a world where her slightest touch could cause devastation. She was a first level practitioner by the age of 12, her Aunt Astra's tutelage rigorous and merciless. Yet there was nearly four decades worth of difference between herself and her older counterpart. Lady El had continued her training throughout her life, and she was 20 years older than even Supergirl would have been had she not been lost in the Phantom Zone.

Supergirl attacked more judiciously but she was denied at every turn. Furious, she tried to tackle the other Kryptonian but Lady El possessed a more powerful form and without super powers, Kara Danvers could not resist as she was tossed away. The costumed heroine couldn't control her fall as she half tumbled, half stumbled into a small table. She groaned as she felt the table and its contents succumb to her weight and she heard the familiar crunch of a brittle surface snapping. Supergirl barely had the time to react as a strangled cry issued from the throat of Lady El and she was hauled roughly to her feet, her elder counterpart, no longer calmly deflecting but instead attacking her with an almost manic desperation.

The Maiden of Might staggered backwards, barely remaining on her feet as Lady El rushed her; she blocked about half of the blows but was driven to her knees when a palm strike slipped in between her guard bowing her at the waist. Wheezing she lunged at the older Kryptonian, managing to stagger her somewhat, only to be punished with a double handed blow to her lower back. While the Kryptonian kidneys were located in a different place, sadly the ovaries both larger than a human woman's and functional as a sensitive part of her anatomy took the brunt of the deliberate blow. While it took a great amount of force to impact them, Kara Zor-El's attack had the intended effect. Kara bit her tongue, causing blood to spurt into her mouth, even as she struggled to hold on to her counterpart weakly, dazed as took a blow to the temple. She couldn't maintain her grip as her vision swam and Lady El threw her off with a grunt. Yet Supergirl had made it her life's calling fighting many beings equally or more powerful than herself, so she rose to her feet with more ease than Lady El expected.

Her cape snapped behind her as she lunged forward, feinting to the left, praying that her counterpart dropped her shoulder too early the same as she often did, Lady El didn't disappoint and Supergirl half tugged, half grasped her forearm and dropped her weight, driving Lady El off balance even as she rose with a backhanded fist to her jaw. Lady El staggered, but not as much as Supergirl had hoped and she realized too late her mistake. Rather than stumbling backwards and away, Lady El planted her back foot even as she caught the wrist of the fist that struck her before Supergirl could pull away. She headbutted her younger counterpart between the eyes, using her hold to turn and slam her shoulder into Supergirl's allowing her to throw the younger Kryptonian over her shoulder. Supergirl landed heavily on her side, wincing as a broken leg from the table she'd destroyed earlier jabbed into her side, her fall forcing it to pierce her suit. Grasping her cape before she could move, Lady El hauled her counterpart partially to her feet, looping an arm around her throat even as she dragged the heroine's struggling form towards the nearest exit. The Alexandria was floating high above National City currently, and without preamble, the noblewoman commanded the nearby door to open and she booted the heroine off the ship, careful not to get close to the outside sunshine, into a free fall.

Sol charged her cells nearly instantly and the heroine pulled what seemed to be a table leg from her side, even as her wounds healed. With a burst of superspeed, Supergirl was once again within the Alexandria, but Lady El was not standing by waiting to attack. Instead the noble woman was kneeling near the broken table, holding something in her hand. Her powers bleeding off at an exponential rate, Kara Danvers rushed forward raising the table leg like a weapon only to drop the improvised implement as she realized what the other Kryptonian was holding. An image frame, damaged by her fall, projected in flickering starts and spurts the Houses of Danvers, El and Ze. Supergirl blinked as she saw her mother and her aunt, her father and even Kal, this son of Jor-El not ashamed of his heritage, all of them older than she remembered and a little different in appearance but as beautiful as Rao itself. Yet what caused her to freeze was the sight of Alex, smiling more jubilantly than Kara could ever remember seeing her, her bondmate holding her close as she held her arms around two young girls, obviously identical twins with eyes the same shade as Alex's natural hazel and crooked, secret smiles that reminded Kara Danvers of her mother and aunt.

Her time on Earth had almost blinded her to the wonders of Kryptonian science. In a world where children were designed and made, not sexually conceived, gestated in a mother's womb and born, it was nothing for the genetic material of two females to be combined into healthy daughters. Even with the differences in human and Kryptonian DNA, the birthing matrix had obviously found a way to form life between Kara Zor-El and Alexandra Danvers. She looked at the image of peridot eyes, twinkling with a joy that Kara Danvers had never seen upon her Light's face before, and her counterpart, looked as if she would burst from her happiness, the stern noblewoman nowhere to be found.

Daughters. Identical twins, just like her mother and aunt, daughters of Alex…and Kara Zor-El. Supergirl felt her jealousy drown under the weight of her joy. Though her heart raged at one more thing that had been meant for her but given to another Kara Zor-El, she couldn't help but feel love and awe. She didn't know their names, or anything about them, but she knew that she loved them. Was this how her Aunt Astra had always felt? Is this why she protected her sister and niece so fiercely? Was this why she would even kill to forge a world where the two beings that she loved most in the universe could be safe? If so, then Kara Danvers could understand what drove Astra to vengeance and madness. Decades, locked in a world where time held no meaning, haunted by the thought that she'd not only failed, but had been betrayed by those she had risked everything to save.

…And resolute in her belief that she would never see them again.

Lady El didn't look up and Supergirl followed her line of sight to Alex's smiling face.

"This is why I do what I must. You are my shadow, the dark taint that reflects the cruelty of Aunt Astra's mercy. You don't even know who you are and your Purpose still rings within you, chants with every beat of your heart. It is a poison…it is why we both are unworthy of Alexandra."

Supergirl bristled at the words and the bitter accusation that laced them, annoyed that the woman that wrapped Alex into her embrace every night, that kissed her daughters' brows every morning, seemed to throw that gift back into her face. Yet the pain, the sad resignation that laced her words at least meant that surely she didn't take the blessing of Alex's love for granted. Kara Danvers clenched her fists confused as how even a version of her that had known what it was to walk by Alex's side could still throw everything away. Were they broken? Was Kar Zor-El only capable of destroying her life with her own two hands?

She was so lost in her commiseration at the fate that sweet Alex endured that she didn't notice Lady El stand up until she was standing in front of her. Kara Zor-El stared at Kara Danvers for a few moments before she let out her breath in a ragged exhale at what she found in lighter hued eyes. She turned and sat the image frame upon the nearby lounge chair and returned, her hand gripping her bond bracelet weakly. Her jaw worked for a few moments as if she wanted to say something and Supergirl saw tears begin to brim in her eyes. She squared her powerful shoulders and removed her bond bracelet. Kara Danvers flinched at the action, for short of the loss of an arm, a bond bracelet was never removed.

Snapping her darker gaze to the younger Kryptonian, she ran her thumb underneath the inside of the bracelet and handed it to Supergirl. Supergirl's eyes widened as she realized that a tracking beacon had been activated…one that was centered on Alex Danvers. Shocked, Supergirl's eyes snapped up to meet her counterpart's and she realized what Kara Zor-El was doing. As High Chancellor she could not be swayed by her bond to Alex, however Kara Danvers, a mere refugee from Earth was not bound by the Law. Lady El couldn't protect her bondmate, but she could ask Supergirl to do so in her place.

Kara Danvers looked at the woman that she envied and detested…her loathing no less potent, but for the first time she could look at Kara Zor-El of .Jor:Krypton and see herself…and a woman she could one day become. Lady El, still bore that seed of doubt in herself…Kara had felt it in her youth when she came in second to Thara in the Klurkor Matches, she felt it when she looked up at Superman instead of the baby she'd expected. _This_ , was the truth of what it meant to be Kryptonian. She recalled the lesson her mother imparted to her after she finished dressing Kara's wounds. The perfection of the matrix was only the birth of their potential, genetic perfection was not enough…it was what one did with that potential that was everything. Even with the guidance of Purpose there would still be Doubt, that was what it meant to live and that is what separated Kryptonians from the savagery of their past.

Lady El had made hard choices and mistakes, she had made scientific breakthroughs and she had earned Alex's devotion. For that reason, Kara Danvers would call a truce between them. Protecting Alex was far more important. Supergirl tucked the bracelet into her belt, grateful that some time spent with Barbara Gordon in Gotham had taught her the value of a discrete utility belt. It didn't feel right wearing the bracelet that Alex had placed upon the wrist of another. Supergirl nodded and started to move away, only to pause and look her counterpart in the eye. She needed to know the truth, to understand why Kara Zor-El was such a danger to the Light of her life.

"You say I am a shadow... What Purpose did Astra In-Ze give Kara Zor-El?"

Blue eyes, darkened by hue and grief fluttered closed as she choked out the word in shame.

"Loyalty."

* * *

Klurkor is often described as "kryptonian karate" although I've morphed it more into aikido with some kenpo and grappling because of my own background. Kara in the comics is trained at the first level, which some people interpret to be a entry level, while I personal view it as shodan/black belt level one (still basic but not rank amateur)…after all, nobody mentions they do martial arts when they are a white belt/5th kyu. I know that Kara in the show is more of a novice (or at least she was when I watched it last), but I think it's fair to show a woman that is deathly afraid of power that could destroy everything so easily and one who has had to throw away her culture, she would have been a poor fighter not from lack of technique comprehension but instead from lack of a feasible way to use them. The show also needed to show the disparity in skill between astra, alex and kara…all played by women that likely have very little martial training. (reminds me of Teri Hatcher's Lois Lane, who influenced the modern comic version so very much which made her take several levels in badass, and who is supposedly a martial artist and fights in the old series, but since Teri herself is not, she looked a little ridiculous. (which of course was funny because they also lampshaded that Clark is NOT a fighter and the few times he fights as a depowered Clark Kent, he gets his butt kicked…). So I have to ignore that a little. It would also explain why she learns how to fight (in that be a person shaped bludgeon way that most shows make the kryptonian cousins fight) so late in life.

R. Niiyama


	18. Chapter 18

The Promises we Keep: Chapter 18

By: Ryu Niiyama

* * *

A mother knows…

Eliza Danvers knew now that Clark Kent had no idea what he was doing when he sent Kara to live with them. To Kara who came from a world of castes, where she was the highest of nobility, being sent to another family when she had living blood relatives meant only one thing. She had been devastated but ready to be of use to her house, yet as the weeks bled into months and her cousin didn't return she'd realized that she'd been abandoned. So she clung to Alex as her lifeline, her intended that didn't want her and she stumbled through this confusing world and its customs.

Eliza hadn't understood that making Alex and Kara sisters would have only been both confusing and insulting to the newly arrived Kryptonian. Kara had been too polite and too shattered by her loss, which for her had been recent, to state her case. Since Eliza had no other frame of reference than her human one, putting Alex and Kara together as siblings seemed to be the logical choice. After they lost Jeremiah, no one had the courage to say anything as grief of all things cemented their roles in their family. Alex entrenched herself as a protector even as she splintered under the weight of it, Kara enmeshed herself in Alex even though she wore their titles like ill fitting clothing and Eliza became a specter of morning and loss.

The renowned scientist's thoughts drifted to the woman that claimed to be a member of House Danvers, this Kara Zor-El that looked so much like her daughter but was not, this Kara Zor-El that took Alex in and became her wife. Eliza wanted to be upset about that, but honestly the relief that her she hadn't destroyed her entire family had been so overwhelming that she could feel nothing but joy. Also she knew Alex; Kara may have chafed under their roles at first, but proximity and grief had ensured that Alex had succumbed to the Westermarck effect with ease. Yet she supposed they were still not like normal siblings, they didn't fight and say meaningless, hurtful words, they didn't annoy and torture each other. Sadly enough the closest that they had come to a sibling fight had been in the aftermath of redK.

Sisters that never argued or fought nearly destroyed the other; Eliza didn't ignore Kara's right to her grief with the death of her Aunt but she knew that Alex had to have had a good reason for it. Her eldest was many things, but she was not a murderer. Still, dutiful, loyal Alex had obeyed…both of them. With a scientist's detachment she thought of all the ways that she had demanded that Alex swallow her thoughts and emotions, in all the ways that she put others first even at the expense of herself. Eliza had done it because she had believed that Alex was strong, strong enough to be a pillar when she could not, she knew now that even though unintentional, that was an unfair burden to place upon a child…even worse for one that was grieving herself.

Still she knew that Alex looked at Kara Danvers and saw a sister, yet Kara Zor-El had been different enough that with time, Alex could see a woman that she could love. While Eliza Danvers held no delusions that motherhood made one instantly benevolent, she liked to believe that despite all that transpired that she was a good mother, one that loved her daughters and wanted them to be happy. Alex had found love, she had found meaningful work that, while still dangerous, stimulated the scientist more often than the warrior, and she had been accepted by her newfound family. If Alex could navigate an alien culture and faces that should have been either foe or adopted sibling and still find love, then Eliza Danvers would only feel joy for her daughter. Her expectations didn't matter, not when they'd nearly killed Alex to uphold them…not when they made Alex doubt and hate herself.

Kara Zor-El seemed to be a good woman, polite and respectful as Eliza's own Kryptonian daughter was but there was a sense of sternness and propriety that her daughter smothered. There was a solemnness about her that was different from Kara Danvers' quiet grief, and yet there was joy, such pure joy in dark azure eyes. Kara Zor-El couldn't fly, but her demeanor seemed to soar when she spoke of Alex. She could hear the pride, love and even the awe that suffused her voice as she told Eliza of Alex's accomplishments.

Kara Zor-El adored Alex with all that she was.

That was all any mother could ask for.

She glanced at the last picture that her Kara and Alex had taken together. Alex was wrapped in Kara's embrace from behind and they smiled jubilantly for the camera. She wondered what Kara felt seeing Alex married to another version of herself. Was she still angry with Alex? Was she confused by the bond completed by another Kara Zor-El's hand? Or had she finally settled into the role of Alex's sister with her love matching Alex's? A part of Eliza was afraid that was not the case, she didn't think that if they both saw each other as sisters that they could wish death upon the other. Sibling anger was often impotent; but the love of a lover spurned and angry… A Kara Zor-El that was once again cognizant that she was not from Earth and the Danvers were not her blood relatives…

A woman with that kind of pain could, in a moment of weakness and insanity, hurt the very woman that she loved more than her own life.

Kara had grown nearly co-dependent upon Alex over the years and in some ways Alex shared that somewhat unhealthy bond. Eliza had allowed it, encouraged it even for years, hoping that it would help Alex deal with her grief and help Kara would have to spend the entirety of her life lying and hiding have someone that she could be honest and open with. Unlike now where Kara had withdrawn from her life, leaving only Supergirl to remain. She tried to play the part for Eliza's sake, but there was such an emptiness in her eyes now. Eliza could only hope that her daughters could reconcile if nothing else than to ease that haunted ache in sky blue eyes.

Kara Zor-El had given her images, already formatted for Earth technology, chronicling Alex's life. Her baby girl was now a noble… and a mother herself.

Even though she was seated, she still felt like collapsing as she thought of that revelation. Granddaughters… identical twins like their Kryptonian Grandmother and Grand Aunt before them. In the space of an hour, her daughter had been resurrected and she'd become a grandmother. Even with years of dealing with aliens and a daughter that was very nearly a god in comparison to humans she felt something close to shock and reverence. She ached to meet them, she wanted to know everything about them, what foods they liked, what subjects they were interested in. Yet despite the disbelieving joy of being a grandmother, what she felt most was trepidation. Alex had not come with Kara Zor-El to greet her; did she now hate Eliza and her wife was merely trying to build bridges best left burned?

Eliza Danvers knew that if she had to, she would go to her grave bearing Alex's rejection as penance. She'd rather have that than knowing that she'd outlived her daughter. Still, Eliza was a practical, observant woman and she wondered at the obvious dilemma that they faced.

Alex had built a life, a family in another universe and one where she and her spouse were integral members of their society. They couldn't just uproot and return to Earth, and even if they could what of Kara Davners? Would she feel abandoned once again? Eliza sighed and put her head in her hands, there was no easy answer but so long as her daughters were happy and so long as Kara Zor-El was good to her daughter and granddaughters then she would accept whatever decision that Alex made.

She owed her daughter that much.

The Martian Manhunter crossed his arms across his chest as he listened to Kara Danvers' plea. He didn't believe for a moment that Alex was guilty; in fact he was certain that if she ever became a super villain she'd be absolutely inept at it as she would spend more time fixing environmental and social issues than actually causing trouble. He was certain that Lady El knew that as well, but he knew that Kryptonians were a strict culture. They didn't have mental bonds to bind them as Martians did and they didn't obsess over individual cultural identity the way Humans did. They considered themselves one people, a trait that made them scientific and cultural paragons in one aspect, but made the justice system almost too heavy so that it would remain impartial. Judicators couldn't be bought or swayed and the genetic tailoring of a Purpose ensured that while not impossible to ignore, a Kryptonian would feel fundamentally wrong for breaking their vows of Justice.

The customary punishment for anything that wasn't a financial crime or a civil one was the Phantom zone. In part so that the criminal wouldn't be a drain on resources but also to show how fleeting and fickle one's reasons for committing a crime could be. If one returned, all of their loved ones either moved on without them or dead and gone from old age, they were struck with the truth that there was nothing worth that loss and isolation. For those willing to commit murder the Phantom zone would become their permanent residence. The part that Kryptonians rarely mentioned is that criminals like that took care of themselves. Decades, centuries of never aging, time as much a prisoner as they were usually led to eventual suicide. Living forever is worthless if one is absolutely alone. He couldn't imagine that for Alex, yet he knew that if she had to Lady El would mete out that punishment.

He couldn't let that happen.

The Martian raised a hand curtailing Supergirl's arguments. He gestured for her to follow him to Alex's lab, even now he'd managed to keep the lab off limits moving the majority of the Kryptonian research equipment to the space. He moved to Alex's old desk and for a moment he could feel the residual mental and emotional energy of his adopted daughter. The determination and love that she had for Kara and for humanity as a whole had convinced him that humans had the capacity for nobility. Carefully, he pressed a button on the underside of the desk and the hidden armory opened up in the rear of the room. In the center one suit that had been transported from DC after Alex was presumed KIA made Supergirl gasp. A space flight suit; less bulky than what a human would require but still capable of sustaining Kara for nearly a 72 hours in space. A modified version of the Alura AI had been integrated into the suit, allowing for seamless communication between Kara's pod and the DEO. Kara had negotiated a custody release of her pod shortly after she's lost Alex, she'd confessed months later to J'onn that she'd considered leaving Earth for good. Yet she wouldn't abandon Eliza, so she remained; the option to go on the Long Journey still available should she require it.

Kara sniffled and then hugged J'onn, a good Kryptonian hug that made even his ribs creak, and in the space of a second she was dressed in the well-fitting suit. Although obviously Earth sourced and designed, there were parts of the suit that called back to her Kryptonian heritage and Kara Danvers struggled not to cry as her heart swelled with longing.

"I'll bring her back J'onn."

"I'll hold you to that, Ms. Danvers."

He washed his hands, flexing the sore digits. He was unused to fighting, he'd shown no interest in the martial way and his mother had not forced the issue. Yet it felt somewhat satisfying to reduce the human like "Superman" to a battered mass of unconscious flesh. He scoffed at the title, without his powers, this Superman was nothing; weak and ill-suited to being a proper hero. It was a wonder that the humans feared and adored him so, as if his ultimately meaningless feats changed anything. Humans still warred and hated, and abused and destroyed. They couldn't even get along when they shared the same land mass let alone the same planet. They had no discipline, no structure.

When he showed them the way they would worship and exalt him. He would show them what a true hero looked like. He would show them what the real Superman looked like.

He would finally have everything that he deserved.


	19. Chapter 19

The Promises we Keep- Chapter 19

By: Ryu Niiyama

* * *

The rage of Loyalty's flame brings about the scars of shame…

Astra hummed softly as she felt Alura's lips press against her temple, the affection familiar and intimate. She smiled at her twin, a smile only for her as Alura moved to return to her home with Zor-El. They had always been close, as their bond demanded but after the loss of Krypton, they folded their lives into one another much as they had when they were children. She knew that Zor-El was a bit disquieted by their closeness, even after the death of his brother he didn't mourn quite the same. She didn't need Zor-El to understand, merely not to interfere and the scholar was intuitive enough to leave Astra and Alura's relationship alone. She wondered if Jor had loved Zor as deeply as she loved Alura; after all his last command had been for Astra to keep his brother safe. Even if it meant that he would go to Rao's side without him. If he even felt a fraction that Astra did, what anguish must have consumed him upon his end. Astra couldn't imagine it, couldn't comprehend the thought of losing Alura, even knowing that Alexandra Dan-Vers had endured battle with an Astra that had been lost in the dark.

She wondered at the sad fate of her counterpart from time to time. She could understand her counterpart's desperation to provide a measure of safety for Alura and Kara, yet she suspected that Non's influence had played more of a part in that Astra's downfall. Astra had always struggled with the devotion of a wife, she respected Non as a soldier and he was competent enough as a lover, although there was a darkness in him that she had to restrain, but bonding with him had been more of a response to Alura's bond with Zor-El than any overwhelming sense of passion. When the Ze sisters had always been together, Astra rarely considered the distraction of a lover, but she knew that Alura loved Zor quite dearly even though he was still a distant second to Astra and Kara. So that her sister would not worry, she allowed Non to court her, to the everlasting mortification and irritation of Lord In-Ze. While Astra cared for him enough to endure the stigma of marrying a man of such a low caste as Non, she suspected that there was no overwhelming passion on either of their parts. Perhaps that other Astra had been different; perhaps she loved Non the way he deserved…perhaps he loved her as well. She liked to believe that she would have done better, but she'd looked at footage of the battle between her niece and her counterpart known as Supergirl and she felt the seeds of doubt.

Could she put Alura's life on the line as Kara Dan-Vers did to Alexandra Dan-Vers?

She prayed to Rao that she'd never be tested to find out. The High Admiral rose and walked over to the room that housed her Grand nieces; in the absence of their mothers, Alura and Astra took to caring for them to ease any anxiety and loneliness that they may have felt and Astra had taken charge of them tonight. Alexandra's more human displays of affection made her a doting albeit stern parent, she held her daughters to a standard that was worthy of Krypton but she never failed to express her pride and love for her daughters. Familiarity with Alura and Astra meant that Alex was well versed in each daughter's quirks and habits, resolute to never conflate her children and she always acknowledged their differences. Thanks to a somewhat confusing explanation initiated by Astra and then clarified by Alura later, Alexandra also learned to accept the synergy between the two sisters. As much as they wanted to be seen as different there was a part of them that clung to their unique similarities; a bonding that only the other or other identical twins could understand.

Astra and Alura had almost diametrically opposing philosophies, for Astra the ends justified the means, while her sister felt that Justice was paramount, yet despite that both sisters detested fighting with the other. They very rarely antagonized each other, for the misery of hurting the foundation of Te:Zedh was unbearable and not worth whatever minor point they wanted to prove. Astra would always hold true to her Purpose: Loyalty. A rejected aspect of the Girod, there were no modern Kryptonian children designed with it as their Purpose…it was only in the rare and once ominous genetic mishap that formed identical twins that Justice could be warped into Loyalty. Or perhaps there had been an issue with Astra's design in the first place. It had been determined that the original zygote before it had split had been Astra's and as such she should have been considered the firstborn and heir of Justice.

Yet her maternal Grandmother had paid a hefty sum to alter the records of Astra and Alura and she'd treated Astra like trash until the day she died. Honestly, Astra had not cared because she had been fortunate. Her Purpose had been ignited within the birthing matrix and Astra would do anything, _anything_ to see Alura safe and happy. She would give up her place, she would endure her father's harsh training, she would craft a spear that would keep their arrogant people from destroying their home, she would kill if needed. Alura knew nothing of the truth of their history and Astra had no need to change that; she could endure much but her sister's rejection was not something that she could bear and keep her sanity. Didn't the Astra of this universe prove that with aplomb?

Still, she was grateful for her Purpose, Justice was glorious in its own way but it was shackled by Law. What happened when those that disdained the Law had the power to manipulate it? Alura was considered the best Judicator Krypton had ever known, her defense rate was perfect, aside from three cases that she determined that they were actually guilty and she submitted her findings to the court. Her prosecution rate made her feared among even the overall peaceful citizens of Krypton, let alone the other worldly denizens that faced her in court. Yet there were times where influential people could still make the truth disappear, when conclusive evidence became circumstantial. Judging such filth as not guilty was like a dagger into Alura's heart, and Astra could never abide her sister in pain. So when those few people met their ends in some other fashion, with no way to link it back to either herself or her sister, Astra felt no guilt. For she would be the sword and shield of Justice, she would protect her sister no matter what the cost.

For that reason she couldn't bear the thought of sweet Kara inheriting her mother's Purpose, yet even in this Rao smiled upon her. As identical twins any daughter of either of them had the potential to inherit either Justice or Loyalty as her guiding Purpose. Alura had always wanted a girl and a daughter was given a higher probability of inheriting her Purpose from her maternal line. Such weightings were Krypton's way of stepping back from the barbaric cloning and absolute tailoring of their war torn past. False randomness, but it eased the collective conscious of the people. It hadn't taken much to use her influence and contacts to find out the underlying Purpose of Kara as she was formed in the matrix, and she had been fortunate that Healer Do had been the in charge of Kara's formation. The Healer was a rarity in her family as both of her parents were a Warrior Caste, and despite her natural skill and quietly bloodthirsty nature, the Healer had wanted to close wounds rather than cause them. She'd left Kara untampered and lied to Zor and Alura, making them believe that she had inherited the same as her mother, Tahrao…Justice.

Yet Loyalty was why they were all alive.

Astra's plans for Myriad had failed. A rebellion by members of house Zod and the Labor caste had thrown Krypton into turmoil, Astra had been sent to quell the uprising leaving Myriad uncompleted. Or so she believed. Unbeknownst to her, Kara had discovered not only her work, but that of Jor and Zor. Jor-El's project had been two fold. He had undergone gene therapy for years and having his wife do the same, hoping to remove the genetic tailoring that bound Kryptonians to their planet. The tailoring had been introduced and space travel had been outlawed after the accidental destruction of the moon Wegthor by the ancient scientist Jax-Ur. Jor-El felt that the reliance upon genetic engineering meant that even if they postponed Krypton's destruction it would only delay the inevitable.

He used himself and his wife Lara Lor-Van of the House of El as test subjects to see if the genetic imprinting was reversible on adults and if new traits could be passed on. They then proceeded to try to overcome the somewhat muted genetically modified fertility rate of their kind by producing a child sexually. As much as Jor and Lara loved their son, Kal was an experiment…if Krypton's destruction was abated then the boy and any offspring born of his genetic matrix would eventually not only maintain the House of El's supremacy, but they would slowly change Krypton. Zor hated being outdone by his brother and rather than applying years of gene therapy to himself he had it applied to Kara herself when she was still in her birthing chamber. Neither Kara or Kal of this universe realized it, but their genetic alterations not only made them able to survive and thrive away from Krypton, but it also granted them a greater immunity to Kryptonite. When applied to a standard Kryptonian, cell damage occurred and was irreversible even with a yellow sun's healing light. Exposure to a yellow sun would take time for the damage to result in radiation poisoning or cancer but that was the inevitable end.

That was why Astra of this universe was not revived and why her stored solar energy depleted so rapidly. Had Supergirl suffered the same wounds so long as the Kryptonite was instantly removed, the fatal wound would have healed enough to keep her alive until she could receive medical care. Their long captivity in the Phantom Zone and its time distortion field had muted some of their natural tie to Krypton, but honestly had they remained on Earth all of the Kryptonian prisoners of Fort Roz'z would have eventually developed fatal diseases as their autoimmune systems began to break down. Kara had discovered the dark secret of Krypton's genetic tailoring and her own modification. Considering that Kryptonian children in the Guild of Thought with average intelligence have the equivalent of a human university education in engineering by the age of 5 it was no small wonder that 10 year old Kara Zor-El completed Myriad and activated it, merging her Father and Uncle's plans together without their knowledge. Jor had wanted to protect his House and legacy, while Zor wanted a way to protect Krypton. Jor worked on small personal crafts to carry his family to safety and Zor wanted to create Arks that would save as many people as possible, starting with the highest Caste members.

Myriad had been activated with the subtle command of having the council direct materials and resources toward reinforcing the infrastructure of the planet, not with the intent to save it but to harness its eventual destruction. Krypton's superior communication technology allowed Kara to reach 11 of Krypton's major cities. The guilds worked together with a synergy that they had stated were the ideals of Krypton but had been eroded by classism and all of the populace that was under the command of Myriad were also compelled to undergo Council sponsored genetic treatment. It was disguised as a simple routine checkup and for a world that had universal healthcare as a basic right no one thought twice about it. People were drawn to each of the major cities, finding themselves feeling happier within their walls.

Kara had altered Myriad with an artist's hand. She didn't want to enslave her people, so she influenced them with subtle nudges instead. The end result was that when Krypton exploded, ten out of eleven arks launched, with one having been sabotaged by rebels that were not influenced by Myriad and believed that the Arks were an erosion of Kryptonian culture. The arks had been genius, incorporating the very land beneath their feet and outfitting it as a ship. It cut the expense of building new structures, and the ships were powered by the irradiated Kryptonite that formed at the explosion points at the base of the arks. Using proper shielding, even the bane of the Kryptonian people had its uses. This allowed the genetic tailoring to be slowly cleansed from the populace without taking drastic, potentially dangerous procedures and the extra emphasis on zehdh kept the Kryptonians together even as they wandered through the galaxy as vagabonds.

This was the truth of Jor:Krypton.

A fleet of the 10 major city ships, smaller ships that had been built or bought all bound together via their navigational computers and Myriad and ruled by the Council with Kara Zor-El at its apex. Their lives were not always easy but the nature of the Arks as intact cities allowed Jor:Krypton to maintain much of its scientific and technological superiority as they wandered the universe. Kara's ultimate goal was to cleanse her people enough that they could eventually settle on an inhabited planet, turning Jor:Krypton into an artificial moon or planet, yet to find a world that could accommodate them, didn't have a species in its system that wanted to destroy the now weakened Kryptonian species and to not be in a stellar system with a yellow sun was proving daunting. Even with the long lifespans of the Kryptonian people, Kara was not sure it would happen in her lifetime. Yet she had hope in her children.

Kal-El had been adopted as her son when Jor and Lara had been killed and she had groomed him to be her heir, despite the fact that his status as a sexually conceived orphan made him less than nothing in the Kryptonian caste system. The boy was unremarkable unfortunately and without the Sol bequeathed skills his counterpart possessed he was as mediocre as a Laborer. Even at his age and as a member of the Guild of Thought he had only made the rank of Analyst. Kara had been trying for years to negotiate a bonding contract for him, but even the allure of the House of El would not garner any successful matches. Instead most looked to Kara Zor-El of the House of Dan-Vars twin daughters as possible paths, with any parents fortunate enough to have children within their age group petitioning constantly. Alexandra had acclimated to much of Krypton's culture, but she refused to have her daughters married off as child brides, matricomp or not. Kara who had rejected her two bonding contracts as well as her Acolyte in order to focus on leading her people, had not minded the change in tradition.

Even before their relationship had become romantic, Alexandra had been a bit horrified to know that Kara Zor-El, who was deemed bisexual by the matricomp, had pending contracts with both a male and a female with the option to make her final choice when they came of age as well as Thara Ak-Var as a traditional Acolyte could technically function as a concubine, an ancient custom that had never been removed from the title, not that Kara had ever asked that of her. While sex was not important in Kryptonian society, it wasn't ignored either, but it was handled in a practical, logical manner. Of course once bondmates made the choice to be swept away by sexual desire, since it was not an involuntary reaction to stimuli as it was in humans, their intensity could be greater than humans… Alexandra soon found out the difference between her dalliance with Talena Urk-Var whom she only had 81 percent compatibility with versus Kara's 98.7 percent.

The poor human had been useless the first two months after her bonding. Astra had belly laughed about it every time she saw the exhausted human or the obscenely happy Kara.

Still, Kara was the heroine of her people…and she felt nothing but shame for it. Kara's forays into mass gene therapy had given her the insight needed to work with Alexandra and the Guild of Thought to first modify Alexandra with Kryptonian DNA, she was no hybrid but it eventually aided in increasing her bone density and joint strength to relieve her of her braces and hearing aids while living in Jor:Krypton's simulated atmosphere. The gene therapy had also increased Alexandra's cell efficiency, thus effectively slowing her aging. Kara would still likely outlive her baring some catastrophe but it ensured them a long life together. That research led to the successful merger of Kryptonian and Human DNA to create viable hybrids. Kara's Loyalty and willingness to do what it took to save her people had rewarded her with a bondmate and beautiful, brilliant daughters. Astra couldn't understand how any of that could bring Kara shame, but she knew it had more to do with what aspects of Purpose Alura had passed on to her daughter. Loyalty was mutated Justice and so Kara still felt tied to the complementary aspect of Justice, shokh…Truth. As such Kara was touched by Truth from both aspects of her heritage, from Loyalty she could obscure the Truth if it meant protecting those she loved, yet for Justice she was a horrible liar otherwise, literally stammering and turning Rao red even at her age.

Which is why Astra knew that Kara was hiding something.

That was why she'd begun hacking into Kara's workstation after Kara had decreed that Jor:Krypton would give chase after Nor. Even though Alex's ship and Lantern powers would allow her to travel to her home universe without ill effect. It was only the fact that she'd been caught up in the malfunctioning stolen engine that she'd even been injured in the first place. It seemed odd that Kara was developing an engine capable of powering an ark that could not only enter a subspace corridor, but could jump universes without there being a time distortion effect. At first Astra had believed that Kara had merely wanted to undo the effects of the experiment that trapped Alexandra in their universe, but her niece was too calm, too secretive.

Sadly, unlike Astra, Kara's Loyalty was to her People for those under her rule she would do anything. No matter the cost to herself. For her people that lay adrift, for her bondmate and children that should not have been hers…Astra was terrified that Kara was planning something noble…and irredeemably stupid. She looked up when her console beeped stating that she'd finally cracked Kara's encryption. It had been difficult, Kara enjoyed cryptography as a hobby on top of what her work required, and she was certain that she had likely tripped some notification to her niece. She'd apologize later…after she alleviated her fears. She accessed the information and her eyes widened as she combed through schematics and notes. She was no Scientist Noble but she was brilliant like her sister and niece so she pieced together the gist of what Kara was planning. Yet it was the personal logs that terrified Astra, the more she read of her niece's guilt she found she couldn't bank her tears.

"My Sky Beacon, what foolishness is this…?"

"She always was a sentimental fool, trying to make everything better and ease her irrational guilt at the same time…"

Astra whirled around at the familiar voice, pulling her sword from its sheath, yet before she could activate the blade, she paused as she saw her greatest fear come to pass before her very eyes. Alura could barely clutch at the hand that held her, her face locked in a silent scream of absolute terror and agony. Yellow light pulsed within the room, but all Astra could see was Alura's face and the coward that was hurting her. She felt rage settle over her like a fine mist and she clutched her hilt tighter, ready to strike but concerned for her sister.

"I wouldn't if I were you Grand Aunt. After all, Grandmother will die of terror induced heart failure pretty soon."

"Let her go, or Rao help me I'll tear you limb from limb."

"Of course…but first, a trade. After all you value the bonding between siblings…"

* * *

Kryptonians aren't sterile, just lowered fertility rates, a cultural dismissal of sex (it's not taboo, they just aren't obsessed with it like humans) and the ability to tailor perfect kids, plus a birthing lottery means Kal was a long shot. Normally I would litter the chapter with Kryptonese but I couldn't find all the words I needed and it is late and I hadn't actually planned on writing...let alone cranking out a chapter tonight. The 5 year old engineering education reference is from the comics. Silver and Golden Age was weird especially for DC (hence why I am a Marvel fan instead.)


	20. Chapter 20

The Promises We Keep: Chapter 20

By: Ryu Niiyama

I think I've been able to maintain the T rating but it is close, as I only tend to rate my work higher due to violence.

* * *

Alexandra Danvers stared out the viewport of the vessel as it hurtled through space. The trip would be short, for their destination was not far. What a difference a decimal point makes in trajectory calculations. She had to be believe that it was due to incompetence, for the alternative… the alternative would break her Dawn's heart. She ignored the glare that she could feel Var leveling upon her and she adjusted herself into as comfortable a position as her shackles would allow. It was overkill on Thara's part to shackle both her hands and legs, but the Lantern supposed she should take it as a compliment, that the General would be so wary. She allowed herself to drift and dream of better days.

As always she dreamed of Kara.

Alex tended to wake about an hour after dawn, her body still not used to the difference in daytime hours even after four years on .Jor:Krypton. Her bondmate- and Alex had to stifle a triumphant giggle at that thought- often awoke about three hours before Alex, her body naturally requiring less sleep. As such Kara usually indulged in a long workout dovetailing the last hour into Alex's workout and waiting to take breakfast after Alex had completed her own morning training. Yet this morning would be different from their norm it would seem, as she felt the heavy warmth of Kara's breasts press into her back, and the delicious brush of her bondmate's mons against her buttocks, she sighed softly at the feel of one of her powerful arms holding her gently even within repose, Kara's hand cupping her rib-cage beneath her breasts.

The embrace wasn't entirely sexual; one thing that Alex had learned from her sister and had reinforced in different ways by her bondmate is that Kryptonians highly value tactile expression. There was almost no form of casual touch between strangers, but there were thousands of gentle intimacies between family, close friends and especially bondmates. As Kryptonians rarely touched in public they had developed a number of touches heavy with ritual and social significance between bondmates. Where a human might kiss, a Kryptonian would either seek out the pulse or brush cheeks or foreheads. As such Kara often touched Alex's neck or wrist or as she was doing now, held her in a way that she could more easily feel Alex's pulse. Kryptonians also brushed against the inner thigh of a mate however once Kara learned that could be construed as a sexual touch by a human she became a bit more wickedly calculating on when she unleashed that particular caress upon Alex. Still, Kara had learned to embrace human customs and sexual expression, weaving it into her more natural expressions to meet her human beloved culturally and emotionally half-way.

Confused but pleasantly so as it wasn't like Kara to sleep in, Alex attempted to turn to wake her slumbering mate, only to be neatly held in place by the hand upon her torso. The larger woman half leaned up, her long dark fawn hair falling across Alex's shoulder and breasts and the human shuddered softly, mildly annoyed that Kryptoinans had a conscious control over their physical arousal while she was helpless against the stimuli her wife provided.

"Stay, Alexandra…"

Alex looked half over her shoulder into eyes that were glowing brilliantly and she fought a smirk. While Kryptonians could control the physical manifestation of their desire consciously, their emotions flared brightly and were often plain to see in their expressive and bio luminescent eyes. The warm purr that trilled beneath the words, especially as Kara spoke her name belied her bondmate's intent. Of course the question was how Kara intended to act upon that intent. Kara Zor-El was the most demanding lover Alex had ever taken, utterly driven to satisfy her bondmate and capable of ignoring all distractions…even her own desire to feel her bondmate's touch. She could be achingly tender or overwhelmingly passionate, yet Alex always felt buoyed by Kara's respect and adoration for her. She could take Alex until the human could do nothing more than pass out into blissful oblivion or she could shatter with exquisite surrender beneath Alex's caresses.

Alex turned in her bondmate's embrace, Kara moving enough to allow it this time as she pressed their foreheads together. Alex watched as Kara's eyes fluttered closed briefly, the gesture as meaningful as a kiss to a Kryptonian and she bushed two of her fingers against the sensitive spinal column of her lover, pulling a purring groan from deep within Kara. The Kryptonian leaned in to brush their lips together, the alien form of affection a heady addiction to her, only to squeak softly as she encountered her bondmate's fingers. Alex twitched as without skipping a beat, Kara took her fingers into the blessed warmth of her mouth, her tongue agilely flickering between and caressing the digits. Kryptonian fingers hands were more sensitive than a human's, so Alex was aware of the beautifully obscene promise her bondmate was making with every stroke and lave of her tongue.

Yet Alex hadn't brushed her teeth yet, and she could see that Kara's training uniform was missing from its place near the door, meaning her mate had actually gotten up and then returned to bed. Carefully extricating her fingers despite Kara's insistent and provocative suckling, Alex broke her hold and moved to the ensuite. Opting to merely brush her teeth and wash her face, knowing that if she tried to hop in the shower, Kara would join her and any attempt at seduction would be lost beneath her wife's insistent desire. Teeth cleaned, the human emerged from the ensuite only to nearly run over her mate, who caught and steadied her with ease.

Rather than continuing their earlier interactions, the taller female moved behind her bondmate and began to massage her shoulders and back. Alex groaned at the attentiveness of her Dawn; she was still undergoing gene therapy treatments and while she could move much more freely than when she first arrived, she stiffened horribly even under the lighter gravity of their quarters. As she felt Kara's thumbs carefully dig into her lower back and hips she knew that her wife's earlier mood hadn't abated in the slightest. An eyebrow arched as Kara knelt and carefully instructed her to bend over to stretch further... only for her to gasp as she felt her bondmate's tongue lick a scorching path between her legs before biting softly at her buttocks and continuing her massage as if she had kept her touch innocuous. After she finished her ministrations Kara stood and moved in front of her bondmate, gently tugging her back to their bed and Alex as always felt her mouth go dry at the sight of the other woman's sculpted body. Alex paused briefly as she realized that a Kalax unit had brought in a light breakfast and Kara turned back, her face staid with calm expectation even as her eyes nearly lit the space around them.

"You'll need your strength."

Alex clenched as she was pulled forward again, positioned to sit with her wife at her side as Kara carefully stroked her warm hands over any bit of skin within her reach. Alex cleared her throat, willing to play along and she began to eat even as Kara pressed closer, kissing and nuzzling her skin. When perhaps Alex was drawing out the anticipation longer than even Kara's patience could bear, the Kryptonian sensually took over feeding her beloved. They traded kisses as Kara fed her, dark azure eyes burning bluish white in her excitement and when finally the last of her breakfast had been consumed, and Kara had chased it's journey with kisses and soft nips down her throat and down her torso before tonguing her belly button, the umbilical remnant still fascinating to a being that had been born in a gestation chamber rather than from a mother's womb, before she paused between the human's legs. Alex looked down into burning eyes and she felt her wife's desire scorch her soul, and Kara smirked, full of promise and intent.

"All done, te:Ehl:zeht? Wonderful, as I am due my morning repast…"

Alex could only grip the sheets and moan as her wife proceeded to make a meal of her.

The feel of cloth impacting her face startled the Lantern to wakefulness and she grimaced and pulled the fabric of one of Var's cloaks from her face. She supposed she should be grateful that the kryptonian woman didn't throw one of her war capes as they were armored with chain link and that would have surely broken her nose. Annoyed, Alex glared at the other female and Var crossed her arms, the tips of her ears red. She lamented the loss of her dream, that morning had been particularly satisfying not just for the lovemaking they shared, but what had prompted it. Kara had began her morning as normal, only to find a message from the Healer Guild updating her on the status of the birthing matrix. Their daughter had remained viable and was now out of the danger stage, and in her gratitude to the her bondmate for the joy she'd bestowed upon her she'd loved and pampered her until their appointment that afternoon. Unbeknown to either of them, not only had the zygote been viable, but it had split forming identical twins. Alex had stared at the small, developing hybrids in shock and awe, but it was the sight of her wife pressing her hands against the birthing chamber and weeping in pure joy that had made that moment real in her heart. She had lost everything once…and now she'd been given everything anew.

"You talk in your sleep, human."

Alex rolled her eyes, it had been about a decade since Var had called her that and she wasn't sure if it was due to the General's embarrassment or if she was that angry with Alex. Thara rose and punched the bulkhead, her body trembling with repressed emotion. Anger it was then. She and Thara had endured a bit of awkwardness when it came out that Talena, Alex's first Kryptonian lover, was a distant cousin of Thara. Her wariness had boiled over to outright animosity, even though Talena was low enough in the Var House line that her dalliances would have no impact on Thara directly. Alex would gladly state that she was not the most emotionally self-aware person in the universe, preferring to put others first and ignore her own feelings until they caused her harm in her daily life, but Thara was an absolute stoic unless Kara was involved.

It hadn't taken much for her to figure out that the then Acolyte had given more than her loyalty to Kara when she took her vows, but her standing was far too low to ever be considered worthy of petitioning Kara for her hand. Thara's disdain for Alex had not been for her dating Talena, but instead for the impact their relationship had on Kara. Upon first realizing that, Alex had tried even harder to distance herself from the Kryptonian that was an alternate version of her sister, hoping that if love bloomed between Thara and Kara, maybe her own heart would stop feeling so torn between her guilt and affection for her sister and her guilt and burgeoning passion for Lady El who was genetically her sister and yet life, age and circumstance had made them nearly strangers.

For nearly four decades Thara loved Kara as her sword and shield, safe in the knowledge that while she could not possess her Lady's heart she knew her love as a trusted retainer and Kara held herself apart from all, refusing any bonding petitions in the hopes of counteracting the low standing of her cousin and adopted son Kal-El. Yet Alex had upended all of that, and mostly unintentionally and for the longest time Var didn't know what to do with that. She didn't trust Alex, and yet she wanted Kara to be happy so she pushed her Lady towards the confusing human when Kara lamented her unrequited affection and the burden that another Kara Zor-El had placed upon her. Lady El's diligence had borne fruit and Var had contented herself in knowing that her Lady was happy.

Yet now the human stood accused of a willingness to destroy it all. Var had acted on Alexandra Dan-Ver's order to dig deeper into Analyst El's telemetry and trajectory projections, and yet she found sabotage and treason, all pointing at Alexandra as the source with Kal-El trying to cover up the transgression. She didn't want to believe that the human was foolish enough to betray the people that saved her, to betray the bondmate and family that loved her…yet she could also understand the call of home. What would she give to see her beloved Lady bathed in the sweet light of a Raorise or to be able to visit the other cities of Krypton without requiring a ship or for that matter able to see more than the lands that surrounded each city that had formed the Zhiutidh:Rurrelahs that kept the Kryptonian people alive.

After all Alexandra Dan-Vers already had a Kara Zor-El of her own; perhaps she didn't care if she broke the heart of the great and wondrous Lady that she'd bound herself to, perhaps she didn't care that her children carried Lady El's blood within their veins. Yet the heartbreak losing her light would bestow upon her Lady…she'd seen a glimpse of it when Oa had reported Alex MIA during one of the many disputes between the Sinestro Corps and the Green Lanterns. Her Lady would not eat, nor sleep and she spent all hours in her lab, trying to find some way to locate her bondmate. Only their infant daughters brought her some measure of peace during that dark time. When Alex had returned, Lady Kara removed her bond bracelet as she slept and inserted a tracking beacon in both of their bracelets. The thought that this human would turn her back on that…Var couldn't forgive that. Alex slammed her chained wrists against the bench she was sitting on, glaring at the General and imploring her to understand.

"You know I wouldn't betray her Var."

"Even with the promise of home?"

"I _am_ home, Thara."

"Does she know that?"

Alex flinched as if she had been slapped, her face flushing red with frustrated anger at the implication. In agitation, she rose and stomped towards the General, leaning into her personal space. Var didn't move, she was naturally more powerful than Alexandra Dan-Vers and the Lantern was shackled with her ring removed. She was powerless, and yet Thara Ak-Var felt impacted by the emotion she saw in light brown eyes brimming with tears. The Green Lantern reached around Thara to key in commands to the nearby computer and Thara looked up as the damning transmissions began to pop up. Yet she wasn't done, Alex kept typing until several transmissions sent on the same dates were opened and Thara's eyes widened as she noted that many of the timestamps overlapped.

However, what was most compelling was when the transmissions were reverted to code and Alex pulled up their encryption encoding. The messages that Analyst El had hidden were missing the encryption and yet every single message that Alex sent bore it. Yet it was when she broke the encryption that Var stumbled back. Part of the encryption was generated by a program but it also bore two unique algorithms, one was a modulus of the Naming Days of both Kara and the twins, while the second bore a leading modulus of Alex's birthday and the death of her father and a secondary modulus that was actually an encrypted message in itself. It was encryption for the sake of encryption and Var remembered that encryption was a hobby of her Lady but it was what was hidden for Lady El's eyes only that made tears of her own fall from her eyes.

Love letters.

Often written in a Kryptonian poem format similar to the Earth haiku or in snippets of text, in every single transmission Alex had submitted for the past 14 Earth years bore this encryption. Alexandra and Lady Kara had begun their courtship the fifth year that Alex had been on .Jor:Krypton, the human having learned in her second year that they didn't have the resources to send Alex back home and overcome the temporal dilation effect. She could go back to Earth but she would likely end up in a different time period than when she left and if she tried to return to Jor:Krypton which was both constantly moving and under the temporal effect that stranded her in the first place, she could end up lost in the middle of space separated from .Jor:Krypton by both space and time. These were not the actions of a woman that believed that she needed only to bide her time to escape from her Kryptonian captors…these were the actions of a woman so besotted with the female she'd fallen in love with that she was sentimental enough to incorporate that love into a security algorithm. Var already knew that any answering transmissions from her Lady to Alex would contain a similar encryption. Lady Kara was both an artist and a poet, and it had been those mediums as well as her scientific prowess that broke down the walls around Alex Dan-Vers' heart. Yet it was Alex Dan-Vers' next words that reminded Var of why she served…both of them.

"She _has_ to. Or else, what am I fighting for?"

Yet the transmissions that Analyst Kal-El possessed were designed to implicate the human but they left out a key part of the encryption method that was used in every message. Var closed her vibrant green eyes, wounded at the implication and she felt the human's shoulder press against hers, knowing that they both came to the same conclusion. Kara Zor-El had still been betrayed by family, that it was her son rather than her bondmate didn't mean that it wouldn't devastate her just as thoroughly. Sighing softly, Var opened her eyes and moved to unlock the shackles that held Alex captive. The Lantern shook her hands, trying to restore the circulation to her fingers and she paused when Var held out her Lantern Ring. There was something wrong, her battery had not been returned to .Jor:Krypton, nor was it still on Earth, and now she knew that she no longer had to wonder who had taken it. The only question left was why? She still had charge to her Ring but she remembered the fear that gripped her when she nearly plummeted to her death…Fear, sickly yellow and terrible, the eroding light of Will itself.

He couldn't…he wouldn't…would he?

They docked at their destination, the far side of the moon. Alex used her Lantern power to cloak her body and simulate an atmosphere, grateful that space adaptation was one of the ring's most basic functions. She had to admit, if all Nor-Zar had been working with Kal-El...or worse had been used by him, there was no better place for him to hide. Yet she swore she would bring him to justice and she would keep that promise if it was the last thing that she did.

Astra waved away the healer that offered her pain relief for her two broken legs, for she needed this pain. She would bear it until Alura awoke…and if…and if she never did, then living with ruined legs for the rest of her life was a small penance to bear for what she'd done. She had no choice and he knew it and she could see it in his smile as he commanded her wake her Grand Nieces and give them to him. Astra's heart shattered at the thought, but Alura…he would kill her and Astra would not be able to survive that. Her sister's love would grow cold and her niece would never forgive her, but at least Alura would be alive. She would take whatever judgment they passed so long as she had that...

If only her beloved sister would wake up.

* * *

Reminder Ladies, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Lady El is abusing PT privilege but I don't think Alex minds. If anyone is confused by my portrayal of Kal, I'm using a very specific version of him as my inspiration for this fic but still of course using my own twist to it. To be honest, his and Alex's roles in the story were the most solidified when I first started this. It may or may not be obvious that I am a fan of the Lantern mythos (the whole spectrum more than the Greens themselves, as John Stewart is the only GL that I like. Blackest Night got me back into reading DC again for a little while.) Also keep in mind that this fic is not tagged as a romance and I did say this wasn't happy Kalex...its going to get bumpy from here on out.

I did see the Supergirl Infinite Earths ep (and I'm glad I did because I was originally going to use Crisis as a backdrop since I had no clue that the tv show was going to use it since I've not seen past the first few eps of season 2 and I don't watch the other shows aside from Batwoman). I'm of mixed feelings about Kara's suit. I'm always happy to see a female superhero in a practical suit, but those cape clasps...geez who thought that was a good idea for a woman with long hair?


End file.
